Say you are working with a lot of open programs and Windows and need to shutdown the computer immediately. What if there was a utility which can save the status of all running programs, windows and processes and can resume them after a system restart?

Enter Smartclose – a free utility for Windows which lets you close all running programs, Windows and processes into a snapshot file. You can use this snapshot file to restore the status of all Windows processes at a later time. (note: snapshot is the name of the program extension and not an image).

This is immensly useful at some peculiar situations such as:

1. You are installing a software or an Antivirus application and the installation wizard prompts you to close all running programs.

2. You are burning a DVD and the system memory is quite low. Nero prompts you to close all running programs and then start the burn process.

3. You are working in an office and suddenly spot the Boss coming in.

4. You are using a shared computer in an Internet cafe.

How to Save the Status of All Running Programs with SmartClose

1. Start the SmartClose wizard and select “Create a System Snapshot and close all programs”. Smartclose will write the current environment of the system in a file and save in your hard drive.

2. Click “Next” and select the programs which you want to kill and restore later. You can hide system processes, Windows services and unsafe programs from the list so there is no fear of a system crash.

3. Hit next, and Smartclose comes into action. It closes all the running programs one by one, closes all the explorer windows, kills all the Windows Services and saves the environment in a snaphot file. (also read: lock opened Windows and running programs)

How to Resume the Status of Running programs Later

When you want to resume the status of the running programs, start the program once again and click “Restore a previously taken system snapshot”

Browse to the location of the restore file created earlier and hit “Next”. The file name shows the date and time of the system restore so you can remember the settings which are going to be restored.

Hit “Next” and select the programs which you want to restore now. To restore all the programs and processes, click “Restore all”.

Hit Next, and Bingo ! All the programs and Windows are restored one by one. The best part of the program is that it can restore individual settings of programs e.g resuming the playlist, powerpoint slides and window positions. (also read: Restore Desktop sessions in Windows)

Alternatives

There is Reopen, which can be used to quickly open recently closed programs but it can not be used if you shutdown or restart the computer. Again, Justclosesometasks is another software program which can automatically close inactive programs at regular intervals, but it has limited functionality.

Do tell us if you know of a better alternative or any other technique which can be used to close and reopen programs in bulk.