The Easiest Ways to Use Split Screen Multitasking on Mac
More often than not, two browser windows are better than one. When working on a project or even when you’re just browsing, split screen mode will help you see two things at once. Heck, split-screen modes are popular even on small devices like tablets and Android phones. And yes, you can get them on a Mac too: macOS natively supports split-screen multitasking, and while it’s not as intuitive as Windows, it’s a good start. And a third-party app will also take care of intuitive gestures.
How to Use Split View on Mac
Like many other features in macOS, split-screen mode is hidden behind a button that does completely different things. In one of the windows that you want to open in Split View, hover your mouse over the green button on the top toolbar (the one you use to expand the app to full screen). Here you’ll find two new options: Tile Window Left of Screen and Tile Window Right of Screen . Select one of the options, depending on where you want the window to be placed, and your Mac will enter split-screen mode.
The application you select will be on one half of the screen, and all other open windows will appear on the other side. Select the window you want to attach to the side and it will take up the other half.
Both windows will be in a new separate space (Apple’s term for a separate virtual desktop), and you won’t see any other elements like the Dock menu bar. You can move your cursor to the top or bottom of the screen to display these items.
You can use the slider in the middle to adjust the display size of the two windows. And that’s all it takes; You are now using your Mac in split screen mode.
This pair of apps will be added to your Spaces lineup and will remain even if you switch to another app on a different desktop. For this reason, you will need to do something to explicitly disable these apps when you’re done: you can hover over the top toolbar and click the red button to close one of the apps, or you can click the green button to close one from applications. return it to your desktop.
When you do this, the other window will still be open as a full-screen application in its own space. To find it, you can either click the app’s icon in the Dock or use Mission Control (F3) to switch to all available desktops and full-screen apps. After switching to the application, press the green button to return it to the desktop.
If you plan to do this frequently, you should assign a special shortcut to this feature. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts and press the Plus button. Then add a Window Tile to the Left of Screen command and create your own shortcut. The next time you use the keyboard shortcut, the current window will automatically move to the left and you can select a window to add to split screen mode.
How to Improve Split Screen Mode with Magnet
Apple’s native version is not bad, but it’s not intuitive either. Windows users may be familiar with the built-in Snap feature, which allows you to position a window on the left half of the screen by simply dragging it to the left edge of the screen. Do this with the window on the right and you’ll get split-screen mode.
If that sounds like a better deal, two popular Mac apps can help you get there: Magnet costs $4.99 on the App Store, or the Rectangle app has a free version you can download that has all the split-screen features that you may need. Once installed and enabled, you can use these applications to place windows on your current desktop. Unlike Macs, they won’t create a new desktop using the pair, and your menu bar and dock will still be visible.
By default, you can drag the app to the top, bottom, left, or right edges to position them on their respective sides. There are also several options where you can drag a window to the bottom edge to split the screen into three parts instead of splitting it into two windows. And while you’re still holding the window, the app will show a preview of exactly how much space the window will take up. Release the cursor and its size will instantly change. If you don’t like mouse gestures, you can use the menu bar app to select a specific window size and space. Each common window size and preset has a corresponding keyboard shortcut, so with two keyboard shortcuts you can dock two working windows side by side.