[GuillaumeB]

is there a tweak or a third party add-on that would change the behavior of the redcross. i would like the running software on Mac OS X to completely shut down when i click on the red circle of the top bar ?

Ben on Mac OS X for a year and a half but can get used to that behavior

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by GuillaumeB 

is there a tweak or a third party add-on that would change the behavior of the redcross. i would like the running software on Mac OS X to completely shut down when i click on the red circle of the top bar ?

Ben on Mac OS X for a year and a half but can get used to that behavior

No. Standard behavior on the Mac has always been to close just the window when clicking the close box. Not the application. There are a few exceptions, such as System Preferences, but there's not really any third party application that does what you are asking.

[Atheist]

Command-Q is your friend.

[NobleMatt]

you get use to it... i made the switch and it annoyed the hell out of me, espesh the way that some apps would close down and other would just hide, but you do get use to it you will be glad to know, i just right click on dock and go quit when i need to get out of something now, but yer if ur really getting fed up give Atheists suggestion a go

[richwig83]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

Command-Q is your friend.

Seconded... in fact i rarely use any of the R/O/G buttons, keystokes are more direct!

[@pplejaxkz]

I too usually use hotkeys instead of actually using the stoplights. "Command-Q" all the way.

[64stang06]

I believe that Calculator, System Preferences, and iPhoto all respond to the red dot and close down immediately. I'm sure there are others, but those are the 3 I've encountered so far.

[larkost]

The application developer can set this behavior with a preference/method named "applicationShouldTerminateAfterLastWindowClos ed". In some cases (like when there is only a single window in the app) it is appropriate to do so, in other cases (like with a web browser) is is not so appropriate.

[EndlessMac]

There are some applications that will do this as default probably because they were programmed that way, but most of the time you have to quit the program yourself. I find Command+Q to be much quicker than the Windows way of pressing the cross button since you have to move your mouse over to the cross. If I just want to close one window of a program just use Command+W.

I actually never click on the cross button anymore and find using those two keyboard shortcuts to be much quicker and more convenient.

[Atheist]

I still don't understand why there is inconsistency with regard to some apps quitting and others not when you close the last open window. It should be all or none. Since when is it more intuitive to have iPhoto quit when I close the window but iTunes and Safari don't? It's nothing but confusing, especially to a switcher.

[Hal Itosis]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

I still don't understand why there is inconsistency with regard to some apps quitting and others not when you close the last open window. It should be all or none. Since when is it more intuitive to have iPhoto quit when I close the window but iTunes and Safari don't? It's nothing but confusing, especially to a switcher.

It's supposed to work like this: if an app can create and save "documents", then it remains open
even if one (or all) of its "documents" have been closed. Something like Disk Utility OTOH, which
doesn't save any "Disk Utility documents" will quit when its main window is closed.

[turtle777]

^^^

Great information / explanation.

-t

[NobleMatt]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

Since when is it more intuitive to have iPhoto quit when I close the window but iTunes and Safari don't? It's nothing but confusing, especially to a switcher.

waht are the chances of you using iphoto lots of times in one session, if ur a photography u use something better than iphoto and if your not a photographer then you just use i photo to get the pics onto your mac. however with itunes and safari chances are in one session you will require the uses of the program several times and tbh its a god send that it doesn't quit the application when you hit the cross but it still allows you have application running, it saves the whole process of minimising, in face thats it... in a lot of applications, dont see the X as a quit/close but as a minimise

[Ted L. Nancy]

I would just echo others who have stated the value of keystrokes.

Use the mouse to open things. Use the keyboard to get rid of them. So simple.

command-q
command-w
command-h

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Hal Itosis 

It's supposed to work like this: if an app can create and save "documents", then it remains open even if one (or all) of its "documents" have been closed. Something like Disk Utility OTOH, which doesn't save any "Disk Utility documents" will quit when its main window is closed.

Interesting, is that a new OS X era rationale? I've never heard that explanation before.

Traditionally (as in Mac OS 9 and below), the User Interface Guideline was that if the app were a single window application (like the classic Calculator) that could only have one possible window open, closing that window would result in the application being quit. Multi-window applications would not quit when a single window was closed. Of course, for OS X, Apple never properly and comprehensively updated the HUIGs, so those conventions fell into disuse or sporadic use.

[- - e r i k - -]

Single Window Application may still contain/edit documents these days. I'd rather there be a single behaviour: I.e. not quit at all when closing windows, but at least the current guidelines makes sense.

The single window rationale stems from the DA-times. Calculator was such a DA.