Close programs from the command line (Windows)
What is the proper way to close/exit programs from command line, similar to pressing the "X" close button in the corner of the window?
Im trying to close chrome under 3 different versions of windows: win7 ultimate, win7 home, winXP
Under Ultimate and XP: TSKILL chrome
Under Home: TASKKILL /IM chrome.exe
TSKILL chrome:
(It closes chrome, no cmd errors,
but chrome error restore when relaunch it)
TASKKILL /IM chrome.exe:
(It closes chrome, no chrome errors when relaunch it,
but errors in cmd: "impossible to terminate child processes(about 4-5), only by force with /F")
Should I ignore cmd child errors if on relaunch chrome show me no errors?
65 Answers
The proper way to close/exit a program ultimately depends upon the software. However, generally the best practice is for Windows programs to close whenever they receive the WM_CLOSE message. Properly releasing memory and closing handles. There are other messages that can signal the close of the application, but it is up to the author of the software how each message is handled.
taskkill /IM process.exetaskkill sends the WM_CLOSE message and it is then up to the application whether to properly close. You may also want to use the /T option to also signal child processes.
Only use the /F option if you want to force the termination of the process.
- WM_CLOSE vs SC_CLOSE
- How to Gracefully Terminate a Process
- How To Terminate an Application "Cleanly" in Win32
Other options would include sending the Alt+F4 keys, using PowerShell, or 3rd party applications.
Update to Updated Question
Ignore, the errors. Chrome generates many processes. The errors are caused when an process does not acknowledge the WM_CLOSE message that TASKKILL sends. Only processes with a message loop will be able to receive the message, therefore, the processes that do not have a message loop will generate that error. Most likely, these processes are the chrome extensions and plugins.
To hide the errors capture the output
taskkill /IM chrome.exe >nulSummary: TASKKILL is the proper way via command line to close applications per its WM_CLOSE implementation and the Microsoft KB that I linked.
4Try NirCmd (Download: x86 x64)
It has "closeprocess" command which is designed to close processes gracefully. As per its document, it does not terminate apps but sends WM_CLOSE to all top-level windows of the target process.
usage example:
nircmd closeprocess chrome.exe
If this doesn't work, I bet your application has an unusual cleanup procedure. I would like to see what happens inside so please let me know what your target application is.
2What is the proper way to close/exit programs from command line,
similar to pressing the "X" close button in the corner of the window?The answer to that question can be found here(Microsoft link).
You can send WM_CLOSE messages to any window you wish to close. Many windows handle WM_CLOSE to prompt the user to save documents.
A tool that does this correctly is @Kill. Look also SendMsg.
I do not know how to do this in batch, but you could use the vbscript for this. Simulating the Alt + F4 keys (equates to signal WM_CLOSE).
Run and look at the behavior of this script below.
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
' Start Notepad.exe
WshShell.Run "%windir%\notepad.exe"
' Select, or bring Focus to a window named `Notepad`
WshShell.AppActivate "Notepad"
' Wait for 4 seconds
WScript.Sleep 4000
WshShell.SendKeys "Foo"
WshShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"
WshShell.SendKeys "Bar"
WshShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"
WshShell.SendKeys "{CAPSLOCK}"
WshShell.SendKeys "baz"
WshShell.SendKeys "%{F4}"Here is the list key names for SendKeys.
When you run the script, the notepad is open, some words are written and then a signal to close the program is delivered, see picture below.
Additional Questions
Can I start a program minimized, or background with vbscript?
Yes. Use the following code:
WshShell.Run "%windir%\notepad.exe", 2For more information check the Run Method.
Can chrome go to some url in vbscript?
Dim iURL
Dim objShell iURL = ""
set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
objShell.ShellExecute "chrome.exe", iURL, "", "", 1If chrome is the default, use:
set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objShell.run(iURL)Is there a way to bring focus to specific application (chrome.exe)?
Here in an example.
I want to send alt+f4 ONLY to chrome, independently of i'm doing with other windows.
The following code works on Windows 8.
Dim objShell
iURL = ""
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run(iURL)
' Select, or bring Focus to Google Chrome
WshShell.AppActivate "Google Chrome"
' Wait for 5 seconds
WScript.Sleep 5000
WshShell.SendKeys "%{F4}"There are some command-line utilities that can send a suitable WM_SYSCOMMAND message (with SC_CLOSE as the command) to a program's top-level window. I'm sure that at least one will be mentioned shortly. (Then someone will mention AutoIt. Then there'll be an answer showing how to do it with PowerShell and CloseMainWindow().)
The command-line utility that comes as a built-in command in JP Software's TCC, a command interpreter and command script processor for Windows, is called TASKEND.
Alright, Not going to lie. I saw this on stackoverflow and thought it was a challenging question. Soooo I just spent the last 2 hours writing some code. And here it is....
After following the steps below, you can type "TaskClose notepad.exe" after hitting "Start" and it will auto save all undocumented notepad files into desktop. It will auto-close chrome.exe and save the restoration settings.
You can add and remove additional settings for other applications under the if conditions. For instance:
If InStr(SINGLECLOSEAPPS, WScript.arguments(0)) Then SmartSendKeys strOutput,"bypass","%{F4}"
ElseIf InStr(AUTOCLOSEAPPS, WScript.arguments(0)) Then SmartSendKeys strOutput,"","%{F4}|%s|{autoname}.txt|%s"
'Example 1: =============================================
ElseIf InStr(WScript.arguments(0), "outlook") Then SmartSendKeys strOutput,"","%{F4}" 'Activate Alt+4
'========================================================
'Example 2: =============================================
ElseIf InStr(WScript.arguments(0), "notepad") Then 'I know, already in my autoapps SmartSendKeys strOutput,"","%{F4}|%s|{autosave}.txt" 'Activate Alt+4 + Save File + {AutoSave} = autoincrement filename
'========================================================
Else SmartSendKeys strOutput,"bypass","%{F4}"
End IfThe vbs and batch files performs the following procedures:
- Collects the executable.
- Queries the executable application names off of the tasklist.
- Performs an "Alt+TAB(x)" procedure until it has verified the window is open.
- Then Executes the rolling commands whether it be "Alt+F4" or even in extreme cases
- Alt+F4
- Activate Save
- AutoIncrememnt Filename
- Exit application.
ReturnAppList.bat : install in "C:\windows\system32\"
for /f "tokens=10 delims=," %%F in ('tasklist /v /fi "imagename eq %1" /fo csv') do @echo %%~F >>result.txtTaskClose.bat : install in "C:\windows\system32\" AND "C:\Users\YourUserName\"
C:\windows\system32\wscript.exe c:\windows\system32\taskclose.vbs %1TaskClose.vbs : install in "C:\windows\system32\"
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Const SINGLECLOSEAPPS = "chrome.exe|iexplore.exe|firefox.exe"
Dim DEFAULTSAVELOCATION : DEFAULTSAVELOCATION = wshshell.SpecialFolders("Desktop")
Const AUTOCLOSEAPPS = "notepad.exe"
Const WshFinished = 1
Const WshFailed = 2
strCommand = "returnapplist.bat "
Set WshShellExec = WshShell.Exec(strCommand & WScript.Arguments(0))
WScript.sleep 2000
Select Case WshShellExec.Status Case WshFinished strOutput = LoadStringFromFile("result.txt") Case WshFailed strOutput = LoadStringFromFile("result.txt")
End Select
'SmartSendKeys(application_name_array, bypassclause, additionalcommands)
'========================
If InStr(SINGLECLOSEAPPS, WScript.arguments(0)) Then SmartSendKeys strOutput,"bypass","%{F4}"
ElseIf InStr(AUTOCLOSEAPPS, WScript.arguments(0)) Then SmartSendKeys strOutput,"","%{F4}|%s|{autoname}.txt|%s"
Else SmartSendKeys strOutput,"bypass","%{F4}"
End If
'SmartSendKeys(application_name_array, bypassclause, additionalcommands)
'========================
Function SmartSendkeys(fArr, LoopCount, RollCommands) Dim x Dim splt : splt = Split(farr, vbCrLf) If loopcount = "bypass" Then x = 0 Else x = UBound(splt) End If a = 0 For s=0 To x If Len(splt(s)) > 1 Then Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") c = 1 : tabs = "" Success = False Do Until Success = True Success = objShell.AppActivate(Trim(splt(s))) If success <> True Then If c = 1 Then tabs = "{TAB}" Else tabs = "{TAB " & c & "}" End If 'wscript.echo "Activating: " & "%" & tabs WshShell.SendKeys "%" & tabs WScript.Sleep 5000 c = c + 1 If c = 100 Then WScript.echo "App not found" Exit Function End If End If Loop Dim cmds : cmds = Split(rollcommands, "|") For Each cm In cmds If InStr(cm, "{autoname}") Then Dim file_ext : file_ext = Split(cm, ".") cm = DEFAULTSAVELOCATION & "autosave" & a & "." & file_ext(1) a = a + 1 End If WshShell.SendKeys cm WScript.sleep 500 Next End If Next
End Function
Function LoadStringFromFile(filename) Const fsoForReading = 1 Const fsoForWriting = 2 Dim fso, f Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Set f = fso.OpenTextFile(filename, fsoForReading) Dim fulltext : fulltext = f.ReadAll LoadStringFromFile = fulltext f.Close fso.DeleteFile(filename)
End FunctionThis was alot of fun to write and I'm more happy about finishing it than actually showing the answer. Have a great week!
