Open Apps Question

[dminches]

When I exit an application by pressing the home button it stays open as one of the multitask apps in OS 4.2. How do I exit an app so that it is completely closed?

 

[twerppoet]

Double tap on the Home button. With the multitask bar open press and hold an app in the bar. When the minus sign appears tap it to remove the app from memory.

Only the first few apps are actually taking up any memory. The iPad is generally good at removing apps from memory as needed, even though it leaves them in the multitask bar for quick access. That said, it does seem to help every now and then when you are trying to run more memory intensive apps. It probably has to do with the way the memory manager is prioritized.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

This is a very interesting piece of information. I hadn't realised that only a couple of apps actually remain in memory, despite them being in the multi-task bar. I have PrintCentral and that allows in-app print (say from 'Pages') using the AirPrint menu in Pages (or other app).

This feature of PrintCentral only works under iOS 4.2 and you have to have PrintCentral 'running in the background'. But, on several occasions, even though PrintCentral was showing up in the multi-task bar, the in-app printing feature failed to work. I found that I had to 're-activate' PrintCentral and then all was OK. Interestingly, when 're-activating', PrintCentral took longer to start up - as though it were being reloaded. Your information seems to explain that - if you haven't used PrintCentral for a while iOS 'unloads' it from memory and so, effectively, it's not really running.

A puzzle solved - many thanks. I learn something new about the iPad from this Forum every day. I am becoming seriously addicted to the iPad Forum.

Tim
Scotland

 

[dminches]

Double tap on the Home button. With the multitask bar open press and hold an app in the bar. When the minus sign appears tap it to remove the app from memory.

Only the first few apps are actually taking up any memory. The iPad is generally good at removing apps from memory as needed, even though it leaves them in the multitask bar for quick access. That said, it does seem to help every now and then when you are trying to run more memory intensive apps. It probably has to do with the way the memory manager is prioritized.

Thanks for the response. So, am I correct in saying that apps stay open until they are closed from the multitask bar?

 

[DontUnderstandMyIpad]

Yes, closing apps from the Multitaskbar is as far as you can go in shutting down an app. Though note that apps with push settings enabled will continue to run in the background. For example IM+ will still send you push messages to your screen, even after it has been closed from the Multitaskbar.

 

[zorah]

Yeah-you could drive yourself crazy thinking all those apps are running and having to manually close all on the bar. I learned that quickly with my iPhone 4 which has had multi-tasking for many, many months. Quite clearly my phone (and anyone else's for that matter) would have been freezing if they all really were running. So when I got iPad two months ago, I knew not to worry.

 

[twerppoet]

Thanks for the response. So, am I correct in saying that apps stay open until they are closed from the multitask bar?

They remain in memory unless the memory manger decides to remove them to make room for new apps to run. they are suspended, not using CPU, unless they are using one of Apple's approved bacground tasks. The reason for this is to make switching between recent apps very fast.

Yes, closing apps from the Multitaskbar is as far as you can go in shutting down an app. Though note that apps with push settings enabled will continue to run in the background. For example IM+ will still send you push messages to your screen, even after it has been closed from the Multitaskbar.

Push is actually a sevice that runs in IOS. Apps that use it register with iOS which then provides all the services. The actual app does not need to be running any code. That is why you recive your notifications even when you have not run the app for days and it does not show in the multitask bar.

Sent from my iPad using iPF