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Add Quit to the Finder Menu
Posted by Kyle Pott at 2:00 AM on December 17, 2007
Mac OS X only: Sick of not being able to exit Finder? A quick terminal command will add a "quit" option to the menu in Finder. This means you can run Finder like any other Mac application. If you're running some heavy applications, simply close Finder and enjoy the extra, albeit small, processing power. Open a terminal and enter the following command:
defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 1You will need to restart for the changes to take effect. Here's the caveat: Finder also manages the icons on your desktop. If you exit Finder, you won't be able to see any of the icons on your desktop. Just click the icon in the dock to bring Finder back.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
discounteggroll
Posted 10:31 AM 16/12/07
no relaunch command for terminal? no biggie, but it would save a step
discounteggroll
bradpdx
Posted 1:57 PM 16/12/07
"Sick of not being able to exit Finder?" That's a bit extreme. No, I don't want a quit command too easily available for the system file browser, any more than I want Explorer to go away when I am stuck on Windows - I use those things!
ZZamboni is right - for those few times when a Finder restart is needed to fix something, the Force Quit option is better and keeps this command out of the way of everyday use where it is more likely to have unintended consequences.
Ditto for Windows - when Explorer hangs on XP (which is several times a week) I use Sysinternal's Process Explorer to quit and restart the process. Apple's "Relaunch" for Finder is far more graceful.
bradpdx
Kent84
Posted 1:48 PM 16/12/07
The main reason why I would want to "quit" Finder is not because of the minuscule extra amount of processing, but rather, the extra clutter it adds to the application switcher (apple+tab) list. In fact, it's a general problem I have with OS X (I'm still running tiger btw, please hurry with your up-to-date program Apple!). The application switcher is *way* too crowded with crap. It would be great if there was an option which would allow me to have the application switcher display only applications that have open windows.
Kent84
ZZamboni
Posted 1:41 PM 16/12/07
If you want to relaunch the Finder, and not quit it, you can press the Option key while you click-and-hold (or right-click) the Finder dock icon. This makes it show a "Relaunch" menu option at the bottom of the menu.
ZZamboni
chuyeow
Posted 6:38 PM 16/12/07
This is awesome, thanks for sharing the tip. I use Path Finder most of the time (until it gets confused and stops recognizing my USB devices) so being able to quit Finder easily is useful.
chuyeow
digginestdogg
Posted 9:52 PM 16/12/07
Damn I hate when I accidently send before finishing my proof reading. Sorry for the typos all.
digginestdogg
digginestdogg
Posted 9:50 PM 16/12/07
WHy is being able to quit the FInder ore easily such a controversy or an afront to "mac" sensibilities. I find the Finder seriously flawed when it encounters a damaged graphics file--it spins and spins and spins. And I have to "re-launch" through a complicated process. I sim[e menu quit and relaunch would be most welcome. How is that bad? If you don't like, well guess what--don't use it. No one is forcing you to select it!
digginestdogg