[Vijik]

.
The new version of ShortcutMe, 5.3.2.0, can be macro programmed to have a shortcut, or System Menu, that automatically closes all apps running in the background.



This is how to do it:

1- Create one shortcut for each app you want to close (make sure to set Alternative Launching for these shortcuts to 'Background'). Set the Macros field to the macros that are needed to close each app.

2- Create one cascading shortcut and set its parameter to the shortcut keys for the shortcuts created in 1.

Now when you run your cascading shortcut it will automatically close all the apps.
You can also set your cascading shortcut (in 2 above) to automatically launch at a specific time of the day, or you can use Custom System Menu feature of ShortcutMe to create a system menu (with a custom name) for this feature (easier to launch it from anywhere).

(Apps that are enforced by BB OS to run (BBM, Messages, etc) can't get killed by this method because BB OS will run them again!)

ShortcutMe 5.3.2.0 is now available for following BlackBerry models:

81xx, 82xx, 83xx, 85xx, 88xx, 89xx, 90xx, 91xx, 93xx, 95xx, 96xx, 97xx, and 98xx.

[Fubaz]

this is a great feature!
people have been looking for this for a while!
great news!

[gdp]

Cool! Anyone that gets a dead battery when they forget to close apps, like me, will appreciate it. This is a great app and very responsive support!

[SCrid2000]

Very cool Will this work to close mobipocket? It closes with shift+q.

[Vijik]

An example for a macro shortcut in ShortcutMe that closes MemoPad (this shortcut only runs if MemoPad is running):

AppName: MemoPad
Alternative Launching: Background
Macros: Delay200;MenuKey;Delay200;MenuItemFromBottom1;Dela y100;NavClick

Similar shortcuts can be created for other apps. Some apps can get killed by simply hitting the End key (Red Phone key). In that case the macro to close it is:
Delay200;ENDKey

Important: You need to upgrade to ShortcutMe 5.3.2.0 before you can use this feature.
Upgrade to 5.3.2.0 can be done from within ShortcutMe (Updates menu item)

[Vijik]

Very cool Will this work to close mobipocket? It closes with shift+q.

I don't have mobipocket, but based on what you wrote, I assume, a macro like the one below should close it:

Delay200;SHIFTPlusKeyq

[anon(1603170)]

~ignore what i asked about updating, i hadnt used the menu entry to update lol

Isnt this also possible in SCM 5.3.1? It already has all the macros to perform this. Whats new in 5.3.2?

[Vijik]

~ignore what i asked about updating, i hadnt used the menu entry to update lol

Isnt this also possible in SCM 5.3.1? It already has all the macros to perform this. Whats new in 5.3.2?

5.3.1.0 has all the macros needed to do this, you are right, but if you try to run a shortcut that is supposed to launch an app, let's call it app A, with Alternative Launching set to Background, 5.3.1.0 will prompt with an error message if app A is not running in the background.

5.3.2.0 doesn't prompt you and therefore, your CloseAllApps (cascading) shortcut goes through all the shortcuts and closes every app you have listed without prompting for those apps that are not running in the background.

[anon(1603170)]

Requirement: ShortcutMe v5.4.110+
Description: Example macro for closing background applications using conditional statements

App name: Macro
Macros:
if1; //starts first if
isapprunning APPLICATIONBOOM; //checks if app #1 is running
then1; //if its running, then proceed below
launch APPLICATIONBOOM_BG; //brings app #1 to foreground
menukey; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
menuitemfrombottom1; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
navclick; //sample app closing proceedure macro
endif1; //ends first if
if2; //starts second if
isapprunning APPLICATIONBANG; //checks if app #2 is running
then2; //if its running, then proceed below
launch APPLICATIONBANG_BG; //brings app #2 to foreground
menukey; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
menuitemfrombottom1; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
navclick; //sample app closing proceedure macro
endif2; //ends second if


The advantage of using it this way instead of creating a shortcut for each application to bring it to foreground and then creating a cascading shortcut, is that this one doesnt run the macro if the app is not running, reducing time drastically.

Basically, using the cascaded method and if the app is not running in the background, shortcutme would launch the first cascaded shortcut, and since it is not in the background, it would return to shortcutme again, to then launch the second cascaded shortcut and so on for each, basically wasting time on apps that are not in the background.
With this one though, it checks first if its running, if it isnt, it just skips the whole proceedure and jumps to the line after the "endif", and in this case, starting the second "if" to check if the next app is running, everything in one go, no screen swapping between shortcutme and the failed attempt to bring a non running app to foreground.
Its pretty quick compared to the cascaded method, and you dont need to create shortcuts to bring apps to foreground.

[Vijik]

Requirement: ShortcutMe v5.4.110+
Description: Example macro for closing background applications using conditional statements

App name: Macro
Macros:
if1; //starts first if
isapprunning APPLICATIONBOOM; //checks if app #1 is running
then1; //if its running, then proceed below
launch APPLICATIONBOOM_BG; //brings app #1 to foreground
menukey; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
menuitemfrombottom1; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
navclick; //sample app closing proceedure macro
endif1; //ends first if
if2; //starts second if
isapprunning APPLICATIONBANG; //checks if app #2 is running
then2; //if its running, then proceed below
launch APPLICATIONBANG_BG; //brings app #2 to foreground
menukey; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
menuitemfrombottom1; //sample app closing proceedure macro
delay100; //sample app closing proceedure macro
navclick; //sample app closing proceedure macro
endif2; //ends second if


The advantage of using it this way instead of creating a shortcut for each application to bring it to foreground and then creating a cascading shortcut, is that this one doesnt run the macro if the app is not running, reducing time drastically.

Basically, using the cascaded method and if the app is not running in the background, shortcutme would launch the first cascaded shortcut, and since it is not in the background, it would return to shortcutme again, to then launch the second cascaded shortcut and so on for each, basically wasting time on apps that are not in the background.
With this one though, it checks first if its running, if it isnt, it just skips the whole proceedure and jumps to the line after the "endif", and in this case, starting the second "if" to check if the next app is running, everything in one go, no screen swapping between shortcutme and the failed attempt to bring a non running app to foreground.
Its pretty quick compared to the cascaded method, and you dont need to create shortcuts to bring apps to foreground.

Thanks gbsn.



Just to clear this out for new ShortcutMe users who are not familiar with macros yet:

To create a shortcut to have the macros in gbsn post, do the followings:

ShortcutMe>MenuKey>Add
Set AppName to Macros
then copy and paste gbsn macros in the Macros field, edit the app names to the app you want to close with your shortcut.