Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Relaunching the Finder

The Force Quit window (see “Force-quitting applications” in Chapter 1) is the quickest way to restart the Finder if it seems to be stuck or if you want to apply some change you’ve made by hacking the Dock’s preferences (see Chapter 5).

To restart the Finder, go to →Force Quit (Option--Esc), select the Finder, and click on the Relaunch button. As with force-quitting other applications, a warning sheet will slide down from the window’s titlebar asking you to confirm the operation. If you still want to restart the Finder, click on the Relaunch button; if not, click on the Cancel button or hit -. (Command-period) to cancel the operation.