Does the prgram actually quit?

when you hit the X on a program does it actually quit? or what happens? because it remains in the dock? Also with Adium I close my buddy list and it dissapears how do I get it back without exiting and re opening it?

You can use the keyboard option to FULLY quit an application: APPLE + Q

Or, if it's in the dock, right click and hit Quit.

When you click the red X, it essentially minimizes the application. To reopen it, click it in the dock.

Do you see a little black arrow under some applications? That means they are open.

Actually it depends on the program. The X can really do anything the developer wants it to do. Close the window, quit the program, etc.
And you might have a headless program that doesn't show up in the dock. the only way to know for sure is to do "top" in terminal, or open Activity Monitor.

I forgot to mention that certain programs automatically close upon hitting the red X. Thanks qiulio.

alright thank you. How about my question about Adium? if I hit the X my buddy list disappears but I can still chat. but to get my buddy list back I have to exit and reopen it

Brendan said:

I forgot to mention that certain programs automatically close upon hitting the red X. Thanks qiulio.

Click to expand...

These usually are one-shot-use apps, such as the dictionary.

Back when the world was flat, these small programs were known as desk accessories, or DAs, sorta primitive widgets.

TheInvsbleMan said:

alright thank you. How about my question about Adium? if I hit the X my buddy list disappears but I can still chat. but to get my buddy list back I have to exit and reopen it

Click to expand...

Command / (slash) will bring up the contact list again. Or find it under the Window menu. You don't have to relaunch Adium.

if u close Adium by hitting the X just hit the icon of it on ur dock, and ur contact list will appear back