The VideoLAN Forums

On my Macbook, I want to be able to click the red "x" close button to close down VLC.

Instead, when I click "x" it minimises VLC and continues to play the track.

This isn't ideal whilst I'm organising tunes, I would like this function to work as it does in windows so VLC is closed down upon clicking "x".

On Mac, you close apps not on the red cross of one window, but only with VLC --> Quit.

On Mac, you close apps not on the red cross of one window, but only with VLC --> Quit.

Although that's generally true, the developer does have the option of having the application quit when the last window is closed, so I recommend you consider @nelld323's posting as a feature request.

Sorry, but no, this is not how Mac applications work.

no, this is not how Mac applications work.

Actually, it is and I can give you several examples, but let's start with an easy one from Apple. Open the App Store application and click on the red close button. You'll see the App Store quit immediately.

Actually, it's not really comparable, the app store is not a multimedia application.

the app store is not a multimedia application.

That's certainly true and I can understand that there are probably valid reasons for treating media apps differently, but it certainly could be implemented if you chose to.

See applicationShouldTerminateAfterLastWindowClosed(_:)

The App Store is a single window application like Photos.app, too - both are basically ports of their iOS equivalents. For these apps, quitting after closing the only window certainly makes sense.

VLC however is a multi window application like iTunes or Mail, so it does not quit after closing one of many windows. In fact, you can even run VLC without any window open at all and audio will continue to play, which is the intended behavior.

I know of no means of having a multi-window app quit when closing a single window when others are open. Note the function references specifies termination only “after last window is closed”.

Again, I can understand that there can be valid reasons for not implimenting such policy. I was only pushing back on earlier statements that Macs don't work like that, when there are ample examples and a function that they certainly can.

Thanks for the information that apple allows such behaviour. Still, it is not default behaviour for most apps AFAIK.

Anyhow, Felix already explained why we are not doing that and so far there is no plan to change that.

For @neild323 and anyone interested: there's an app that does exactly that, RedQuits, http://www.carsten-mielke.com/redquits.html

I have owned a mac for 11 years. Nearly every time I close VLC (with cmd-w or with the red X) for the last 11 years, I have cursed, because the music doesn't stop playing. It's so unintuitive. It doesn't matter that other mac apps do it too. I want to bang cmd-w and have the thing STOP. Especially when I'm working on my collection (musician here managing my back catalog, as well as my entire CD collection).

I love VLC. I love that you develop it. I think you're amazing people. I have so much gratitude for you. But this one thing is a source of (small amounts of) anger in my life.

Fact:
- when I close the Main Window (the one with the audio files and the play button in it) - THE WINDOW THAT SEEMS TO BE THE ACTUAL MUSIC PLAYER - the music does not stop.
- you as a developer CAN choose to close the entire app, many modern mac apps do this.
- you as a developer DONT have to close VLC to make me happy... (just stop the music)

Story in my head (full of cobwebs and human mush, and other higher priority functions I'm thinking about for my life and day job and etc):
- Because of this one problem - VLC on MacOS feels like a Janky port from Windows that didn't pay attention to all the details. I've always thought it. I still think it today. It's just been my impression. It's the story in my head that formed based on the non-intuitive behavior.
- It feels like the developers are not Mac users themselves, come to MacOS just to do a build, looked around sometime in the 2000's and saw "MaC oS aPs DoNt FuLly ClOsE", so copied that and never looked back.
- When the music player window is closed, it would be intuitive for it's functions to stop, e.g. the music to stop. Because it's intuitive. Music player closed? Music stops. Simple. Intuitive. Good Ux.
- I'm fully aware these are just stories in my head, and you devs have well formed reasons why you do what you do, you probably even use MacOS, my impressions come from occasional use - there is a lot I dont know.

My Request:
- I dont care if you exit the app, but could you at least stop the music playing when the window with the music player is closed? wouldn't that make sense, conceptually, at least, a little?
- If not, then could we get an option in Preferences to choose whether to stop the playback engine when the window closes (cmd-w or red-X)?
- as a lovely bonus, I'd also love to have an option in preferences to fully exit the app when last window is closed... but that isn't as high a priority as the other two requests...

(By the way @frannie RedQuits goes to a scary phishing site now)