running in the background

Only had my mac about 6 weeks and still getting used to it, still very happy with it.
Have installed photoshop cs4 and elements. Since doing this it seems to have slowed down a little.
What I would like to know is how can I see if these are running behind the scenes and how can I turn them off.
Did a search but couldnt find anything that I understood.
Thanks

Some applications are designed to run in the background. Most are not.

The way to check on any given application to see if it is running in the background is to use your Activity Monitor application. (Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor.app)

You can also check to see if any applications are running upon startup. Go to System Preferences, Accounts. Highlight your user name and click on the "Login Items" tab. You can remove or add applications to the list if desired.

How much system memory do you have? Photoshop CS and elements do use a considerable amount of memory when they're running. You may want to add more memory to your machine. Adding memory is an easy do it yourself upgrade.

Regards.

There are two easy thing you can do.

One is to look at the dock and see if the application is activated. If it is activated a small white dot or light is shown below the icon. If the dot is there, the program is running. To quit, right click on the icon, put the cursor on 'quit' on the pop up menu and left click. Unlike a Windoze computer, closing a program at the red dot does not shut off the program, the program is still activated and is running in the background. Programs can also be 'quit' from the menu on the top of the screen. Click on the name of the program (next to the apple), and 'quit' is one of the options in the drop down menu.

The other is to turn on 'Activity Monitor' from the applications folder. This monitor shows the programs and applications that are running and how much of the processor is being used. Programs and applications can be closed from the monitor. Highlight (select) the program and press the 'quit process' button. The icon for the 'Activity Monitor' can be parked on the dock for easy use.

Larry H

Thanks, looks like I need to upgrade ...... already.
Is 4 gig the maximum ?

Which Mac do you have? Post the year and model and we can give you some idea of how much and what kind of memory it can take. You can also go to the Crucial web site and do the same thing. (RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, flash cards, SSD at Crucial.com)

Regards.

Hi, its a macbook pro , 13", mid 2009 model.
Thanks

You can upgrade to 8 GB of memory in that machine. That would be 2 x 4 GB modules. Either go to Crucial (see my last reply) or to OWC. The going price right now for 8 GB is around $369.99. (That's at OWC) You might want to settle for less. Upgrading to 4 GB (2 x 2 GB modules) would be OK.

Here's the link to OWC.

Regards.