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WINDOWS SHORTCUT MASTERY · LESSON 22
Close the current window: Alt + F4
FREE LESSON
3 minutesWindows 11Beginner
Section 1 of 33 minutes
Learn at your own pace
UNDERSTAND THE IDEA
When this helps
What am I going to do?
Read the idea, learn the key combination and answer a question about when it would help.
What will I learn?
Know when and how to close the current window.
Closing a window ends that view of your work. It is different from hiding a window or switching to another one.
LEARN THE SHORTCUT
The keys and what happens
Where it works Windows 11
Alt+F4
Key names are shown separately, not as a keyboard layout. A + between key boxes means combine them. A box named Plus means the actual Plus key. Follow the steps below for alternatives.
1How to use it
Click once on the title bar of the window you mean to close. Hold Alt, press F4, then release both. On some keyboards you also need Fn to use F4 rather than its brightness or media function.
2What to watch for
Save important changes first. An app may ask whether to save before closing; read the choices. When the desktop itself is active, Alt + F4 can show the Windows shutdown dialog instead. Click Cancel if that was not intended.
You can learn this shortcut without pressing it here. The real keys act on your computer or the app you are using.
CHOOSE THE USEFUL ACTION
When would you use it?
You have finished with one app and saved its work. Which situation suits this shortcut?
Close its active window.
Progress is saved in this browser on this device.
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