- Looking for the Mac Task Manager? While a staple of the Windows experience, macOS doesn’t have an exact equivalent of the Windows utility. Instead, macOS has a program called “Activity Monitor” which, by and large, does the same job as the Windows Task Manager.
- One frequent thing new Mac users seem to look for is the Task Manager. It’s a useful tool on Windows that allows you to see a plethora of information at once. With the Task Manager, you can force quit apps (known as the “End Task.
- Is There a Task Manager for Mac? As you know, the task manager is a native feature on Windows.
- The Mac has its Task Manager, but it has a task log with a different name. The Active Monitor operates in a somewhat similar manner to how Task Manager works in Windows, which allows you to quickly access, control, and end tasks on Mac, applications, and any active processes that are running on Mac.
If you are a user of Windows then you most probably know the importance of CTRL, ALT and Delete keys. This is the combination you provide to your windows computer when you need the task manager to appear in front of you so that you can end a process that is hanged. Task manager can be put to good use if you can know their functionality very well. You can just keep an eye on the day to day process that is going on, on your computer. It’s like a CCTV camera. For the Macbook it is known as the Mac Task Manager
The most popular among the task manager is the Windows ask Manager and the reason being the popularity of the OS and ease of use. Other than that Windows Task Manager is quite effective in helping you, manually clean up your device when it becomes slow. But nowadays people are going towards the more comfort zone and thus choosing Mac for comfort and class. As the title suggests we will be moving forward with the Mac task Manager and ways you can use it for your day to day use in your Macbook.
Mac Equivalent of Task Manager The Task Manger on a Windows Computer is used to quit applications, whenever an application or program gets stuck or freezes on a Windows Computer. Activity Monitor is the Mac’s version or the equivalent of Task Manager as found in Windows Computers.
The Mac task manager is also known as the Activity Monitor as you control various activity and processes in your Mac Book with the help of it. But it is quite similar as well as quite different from the windows task manager at the same time. The activity monitor can monitor system parameters, force stop apps that got hanged, view additional info and keeping your computer neat and clean manually. In this ways mentioned you can compare it with the Windows task manager for similarity however when you try to find out the difference, there are not so many apart from the usability and interface. You will not be able to open Activity Monitor with the conventional CTRL, Alt and Delete command rather there is a different process for that. But first, let us take a look at the various features of the Activity Monitor.
Basically here we are going to look at some of the features the Mac task manager has so that you can explore it more for your day to day works.
1. Monitor the Various system parameters
The first thing you get to see when you open the Mac task manager is a cool interface with some tabs or panes. These tabs are in the form of categories which are Memory, CPU, Disc, energy (battery) and Network.
The memory tab is basically used to keep an eye on the storage system of the Computer. Through it, you can keep an eye on the RAM, its activities and how it is being used.
The CPU tab helps to check how much the processes are affecting the processor and its activity.
The disc tab shows how much data has been read from your disc or written to your disc.
The Energy pane simply keeps an eye on the battery/power consumption and also provides us the usage details.
The network pane can be simply used for getting a note of the data that are sent or received by processes during a task.
2. Force stop applications that are not working
You can force stop applications that are not working or has stopped working. In order to do so, you need to go to activity monitor, select the application that got freeze and force close that application.
3. View additional information about the processes and application on your Mac book
You can check out additional info about the processes and applications that are currently running on your Mac book. To do so you need to go to Activity monitor and click on I button to know more about the application.
4. Remove unwanted files and make your computer clean
You can also clean apps that are unnecessarily using RAM and Disc memory In order to keep your computer neat and clean.
Remember, how we used to press the CTRL, Alt and Delete buttons to bring the task manager so that we can force stop unwanted processes? This is all the same in the Activity monitor as well, the only difference being the CTRL, Alt and Delete buttons are not used here to call it. Rather it can be launched directly. The Mac Task manager is located in the Applications>Utilities> folder location of your Mac Book. To open it you can follow the steps given below.
1. Using Spotlight
- First, you need to open the Spotlight search field and for that, you can press command and spacebar simultaneously.
- Type Activity monitor and it will appear in the list. Select it and wait for a few
2. Using finder
If the previous method fails then you can simply use this method as well.
- Go to the Finder icon in the Dock and select it.
- A window will appear and you will then need to choose the application pane for sidebar menu in the window.
- Thereafter, you need to go to the Utilities Folder. There you will find the Activity Monitor.
- Click on the Activity Monitor Icon next to run it.
3. Pin it to the Dock
You can simply pin it to the Dock so that you can run it easily whenever you want to. To do so
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- Open the Activity Monitor using the above-mentioned
- Right click on the Activity Monitor icon and choose “Keep in Dock” option to keep the application in the dock for later use. It’s like the toolbar in windows.
4. Force stop application
As mentioned above few times that there are no CTRL Alt and delete option for the Mac counterpart to call the Activity Monitor. You need to visit the activity monitor first. Then you need to select the app that has been freeze and is not working. After that click on the “x” button to simply close it. You may find a window pop up which will ask for your surety on whether you want to close the application or not. Click on agree and proceed. However, you can use Command, Escape and option keys on your Mac Book to call the Force Quit app manager. This will help you to easily close the unnecessary apps on your Mac book.
Using Mac may be hard for the first timers and especially those who had just shifted from windows. However, there are numerous ways you can ease your work while working on a Mac book. The good news is that you will be needing the activity manager less often because the apps and the device is built far better than a device with a similar configuration on other OS. However, in case of emergency, you need to use writemypaper it and thus now you can use it from the dock itself after reading this article.
We all are all aware about the percentage of people from all over the world who use Microsoft Windows. The percentage is too high that meets the probability aspect as well where it’s possible that Mac users have used WindowOS in his/her life but not vice versa. So there are chances while you are using your mac, you accidentally give your system the wrong command.
We all know that for WindowOS, we use the (ctrl + alt + delete) command for launching the Task Manager, the same cannot be done for Mac. We all have had the experience of putting in Windows commands on Mac using trying to access the Activity Monitor and felt embarrassed about it. So there is nothing new apart from the fact how diversified your Mac Task Manager can be.
What Do You Mean by Mac Task Manager?
Mac Task Manager is the last place you go when every manual effort has gone haywire. It’s more like a one-stop-solution to keep your system flawless and away from the frozen or unresponsive applications or programs. And since many of us are quite familiar with Windows Task Manager to kill programs that freeze out of nowhere, on Mac also we should be aware of such functionality.
Though everyone (including the manufacturer) thinks that Mac doesn’t need an Activity Monitor or Task Manager (thanks to the smoothness and flawlessness it brings to the table), we all have our reservations. And to an extent, it’s true that Mac functions amazingly smoothly but every one of those devices need to be taken care of from time to time.
Some sudden issues like app failure or software crashing put a big question on your experience and that’s where the Activity Monitor comes in. Yeah!! Just like the Task Manager you have on the Windows operating system, Mac also has a similar app that can have you big time while your experience is in a questionable state.
So it’s quite natural that no matter how smoothly your system is working, it may go through tough situations a few times and that’s when you need the best solution. Activity Monitor or the Apple Task Manager is quite easy to navigate on your Mac as well as comes with the simplest user interface.
How to Launch/Open Activity Monitor or Mac Task Manager?
Now that we are quite aware about the fact that Mac has its own Task Manager (just like Windows) so we don’t need to be worried about the frozen or unresponsive programs. And since we don’t accept the fact that our precious computer or Mac can face any issues, we ignore those warning signs. Either restarting the device or relaunching the application manually has been our attitude towards those issues. So it’s better that we always turn to the solutions given by the manufacturer as surely they know better than us.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” ― Albert Einstein
Means that in order to solve any of the problems (irrespective of the platform), you need to know what triggered it. And since we all aren’t subject matter experts who can tell why one of the apps isn’t responding, let alone the Mac itself. This is why we need an expert like the Mac Task Manager or the Activity Monitor who analyzes the problems thoroughly and then looks for the possible solutions.
Now comes in the big question, “how to use the Mac Task Manager or Activity Monitor” or “where do I find Mac Task Manager” or “ways to get Task Manager on Mac”. So without further ado, let’s understand the ways to use Mac Task Manager on your Mac in the easiest ways possible:
As we mentioned above, navigating the Activity Monitor on Mac is very easy as all you need to do is, either use the below path or access Spotlight for quick search:
Applications > Utilities > Folder
So let’s explore both the ways to launch the Macbook Task Manager (through path & Spotlight):
Launch MacOS Task Manager using Spotlight
1. Since we are going ahead with the Spotlight method, press Command + Spacebar on your Mac.
2. When the search field pops up, type in Activity Monitor and tap on the same as soon as you encounter it in the list. Simple as that!
Launch MacOS Task Manager using Dock
There are times when Spotlight doesn’t work for you properly, this is when you turn to Dock and look for Mac OS Task Manager as below:
1. Navigate yourself to the Finder functionality (onto the Dock)
2. Here you need to look for the Applications folder (onto the side of the screen).
3. Under Applications folder, choose the Utilities folder and open it up.
4. Now look for Activity Monitor under Utilities and once you encounter it, double click. Simple!!
Launch MacOS Task Manager Pinning onto The Dock
Yeah!! That’s possible. Instead of using Spotlight or opening up the Finder function to type in & launch the Macbook Task Manager, you can directly access it without any hassle. Just one click (literally) and you are there with the Task Manager in no time.
1. You need to open up the mac Task Manager using any of the above ways (Spotlight or Dock).
2. Once launched successfully, you need to right click onto the Activity Monitor (dockside).
3. Here, from the list, tap on Options and then tap on the “Keep in Dock” function.
Doing so will create a kind of a shortcut onto the dock so you won’t have to go through different steps to launch or open the Task Manager on mac. Just one click onto the Activity Monitor icon on the dock and it will launch within no time.
How do We Use Activity Monitor or Mac Task Manager?
Activity Monitor or mac Task Manager or macOS Task Manager is an extremely helpful tool one can get access to. From looking at the currently running processes to force quit frozen or unresponsive programs, Activity Monitor helps you big time. In short, the ways to keep your mac working smoothly & flawless, Activity Monitor keeps things in order. There are many things you can achieve by using the mac Task Manager but there are a few that take up all the credit as mentioned below:
1. System Parameters Monitoring
Even if there is the slightest issue with your device, the user must know about it or simply one of the in-built must list the issue. Activity Monitor is there to help you in such situations where it continuously monitors the system parameters for any discrepancies, if there are any. When you have successfully launched the mac Task Manager or Activity Monitor (as explained above), you will have access to many tabs to monitor everything on the device.
From CPU performance to disk space and memory usage, everything will be visible to you in detailed info. And after going through every one of those sections, you will know what are the programs or processes that’s affecting the device performance.
For example, the CPU tab helps you identify the processes or programs that are creating obstacles in the smooth running. Wherein, Memory tab gives you detailed statistics about the RAM that’s in use currently. Energy tab works just as the name suggests because it displays the energy consumed by the system overall & according to each app as well.
Disk tab is something that maybe you won’t find anywhere else because it tells you everything about the data that’s been read and written by each process or program. And finally, the Network tab which has been designed in a way that you get to know all the data related info (sent & received) according to different processes.
2. In Depth Info About App or Software or Programs
It’s quite evident that if you are using a feature that’s providing you every single detail about your device’s performance, it must dig in deep to analyze everything. And that is why using the mac Task Manager, you are entitled to know the in depth info about any of the programs or software running on the device. Irrespective of the format, every app that’s been installed on your mac, you have the liberty to check everything about it, thanks to the Activity Monitor (as below):
1. All you need to do is, navigate yourself to any of the apps from the list (Activity Monitor).
2. Post doing so, tap on the process or program & click onto the “i” button (top left side of the screen).
3. A new window will pop up and it will display every single detail one would need for that specific program or app. You will get to know the insights of the currently analyzed app so you can deal with future issues if there would be any.
Also Read:How to Use Apple’s Translate App to Translate Text & Speech in iOS 14
3. Force Quit App or Programs Using mac Task Manager
All of us have had the not-so-pleasant experience when it comes to using apps or programs that come with untimely glitch. Either the system slows down or the program itself freezes which can be an issue for many of us. So in order to keep your mac up & running smoothly, use the Activity Monitor or macOS Task Manager to shut those frozen apps down. All you have to do is:
1. Launch the Activity Monitor on your mac and navigate to the app or program you wish to force quit.
2. Post the program selection, you need to tap onto the “X” button (top left corner on the screen).
3. Doing so will lead you to a confirmation pop up window if you wish to close (force quit) the program.
4. If you are sure, go ahead by tapping into the Quit button and the frozen program will be closed in no time.
5. There are situations where following the above steps won’t close the app and that’s when you need to tap on Force Quit and the program will shut down. Simple!!
What’s Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Mac?
Since we all are fully dependent on computers (professionally) and on top of that, maximum users have Windows OS, it’s evident that we might use the same commands on mac as well. Yeah!! It’s going to be an unintentional mistake but it does happen and it will till the time we aren’t friendly with macOS as well. One of the many helpful functions you get to access on Windows is Ctrl + Alt + Delete that gives you liberty to access so many things. But is there any command in mac that’s equivalent to the same command as mentioned above? Does typing in Ctrl + Alt + Delete in mac do anything?
Task Manager Apple
The answer is YES!! Typing in the same command on your mac won’t work but there is a shortcut combination which helps you take action against those frozen or unresponsive apps. The command is, Command + Option + Escape so you need to hold down the combination to open up the window to close or force quit frozen apps.
Obviously the shortcut command won’t help you with additional info like CPU usage or Energy (as in the Activity Monitor) but it will help you directly work on the force-quit-apps command. Overall, it’s a win-win situation where if the user wishes to only force quit a particular app, he/she can go with the above command. Or else, to get more insights, Activity Monitor is always there to help them out with additional info.
Wrapping Up
Macbook Air Task Manager
Mac Task Manager or Activity Monitor has been designed to monitor everything on your device to take proper actions. However, a few times, issues like frozen or unresponsive programs can ruin your overall experience. Plus, if you are one of those people who wants to know everything about the system including the RAM and memory usage, Activity Monitor is for you.
Macbook Task Manager Command
There are also questions around how to use mac Task Manager and that also have been explained in the above sections. However, if you have any questions with reference to the usage of mac Task Manager, do drop a comment in the section below and we will respond at the earliest opportunity.
Apple Task Manager
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