How to Split Your Screen for Multitasking (Windows, Mac, and iPad)

Tap a platform to see how to view two windows side by side without constantly alt-tabbing between them.

Windows: Snap

Drag a window's title bar to the left or right edge of the screen and it automatically resizes to fill half the display, letting you pick another open window to fill the remaining space.

Windows: keyboard shortcut

Press the Windows key plus an arrow key to snap the active window to that side of the screen instantly, without touching the mouse.

Mac: Split View

Press and hold the green full-screen button in a window's top-left corner, and you can choose which window fills each half of the screen.

iPad: Split View

Drag a second app up from the Dock to the edge of the screen to run two apps side by side at the same time.

Fewer window switches, more focus

Comparing a document against reference material, or keeping a chat window open while you work, are classic cases where split screen removes the need to constantly alt-tab or click between overlapping windows -- both stay visible the entire time.

A larger display makes it more useful

Windows supports up to a four-way split for people who want to arrange several apps at once, and the bigger and higher-resolution your screen, the more comfortably several windows can share it without feeling cramped.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I split the screen into more than two windows?

On Windows, yes -- you can snap up to four windows into a grid layout, and a larger monitor makes arranging several windows at once much more comfortable.

What if my split-screen option seems to be missing?

On older operating system versions the feature can be limited or absent, so updating to the latest available system version is usually the first thing worth trying.