One of the new features introduced in 10.7 Lion was Resume.
It’s works without any input from the user, so you may not have noticed it. So… what does it do:
- When you quit an application and re-open it, Resume restores all windows as they were at the time the application was closed.
- On a broader level, when you restart your Mac, all applications are restored to the exact state they were in at the time of shutdown.
Resume is extremely useful, but there are times when it can be annoying. Every time you open Safari, you may not want all the tabs you had open on your previous browsing session to open and start loading.
Resume is on by default, but the good news is that it can be turned off and/or used selectively.
Turning Off Resume
- Click on the black Apple in the top left-hand corner of the screen and select System Preferences.
- Click on General.
- If you are using Lion, at the bottom of the screen, uncheck Restore windows when quitting or re-opening apps.
- If you are using Mountain Lion, at the bottom of the screen, check Close windows when quitting an application.
If you turn off Resume and you are using Lion, you should be aware that when you attempt to restart/shutdown your Mac, you will see an option in the Shutdown dialog box – Reopen windows when logging back in. Uncheck this option, if you do not want to Resume all applications after the restart.
Using Resume Selectively
- Use the instructions above to turn off Resume.
- Now, when you Quit an application, if you hold down the Option key the Quit command will change to Quit and Keep windows.
So, using the option key you can selectively decide which Applications you’d like to use Resume on.
Have a great week.
If you have questions, please use the Comments section below.
