How to Force Quit Photoshop - Save Work & Fix In 30 Seconds!

How do I force quit Photoshop on my computer?

For Windows Users:

Step 1: Access Task Manager

Honestly, if you're using a Windows machine and Photoshop decides to throw a tantrum, you can easily bring up the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc. This is a quicker alternative to the Ctrl+Alt+Delete method, which requires an extra click to access the Task Manager. Once the Task Manager window is up, you'll see a list of running applications and processes.

Step 2: Locate Photoshop

In the Task Manager, under the "Applications" tab, you'll find Photoshop listed. Trust me, it's crucial to make sure you're on the "Applications" tab and not the "Processes" tab, as the latter shows all the background processes and could be overwhelming for a beginner.

Step 3: Force Quit

Once you've located Photoshop, right-click on it and choose "End Task." This will forcefully close the application. Alternatively, you can click on Photoshop to highlight it and then click the "End Task" button at the bottom-right corner of the Task Manager window. Either way, this will terminate Photoshop and free up your system resources.

‍

For Mac Users:

Step 1: Open Force Quit Applications Window

If you're on a Mac, you can press Command+Option+Escape to bring up the Force Quit Applications window. An even quicker way to do this is to right-click (or control-click) on the Photoshop icon in the Dock and choose "Force Quit" from the context menu that appears.

Step 2: Select Photoshop

In the Force Quit Applications window, scroll through the list until you find Photoshop. For sure, you need to be careful not to accidentally select the wrong application, as force quitting will close the application without saving any open files.

Step 3: Confirm Force Quit

After selecting Photoshop, click the "Force Quit" button at the bottom of the window. Alternatively, you can also press the Enter key to confirm the action. This will close Photoshop and free up any system resources it was using.

‍

In Case of Unresponsiveness:

For Both Windows and Mac

If Photoshop is so frozen that it won't respond to either of these methods, you'll have to restart your computer. On a Windows machine, you can press and hold the power button for about 5 seconds to perform a hard shutdown. On a Mac, you can press and hold the power button until the system turns off. Restarting will kill all processes, including the unresponsive Photoshop, allowing you to start fresh.