How To Split Your Screen On A Mac For Better Multitasking

You can split your Mac screen in just a few taps with this simple utility. To ensure you are doing it correctly, follow the guide.

Whenever you work from home on a laptop, as I do, you may need to open more than one window. It is not very efficient to switch between multiple full-screen windows.

It is easier to split your Mac screen than to keep two windows open simultaneously. The split screen mode is ideal for viewing data for reports, keeping chat windows open while doing something else, or playing a video while multitasking.

By using the split screen mode on Mac, you can open two applications or browser windows simultaneously. By doing this, you are able to glance between windows without having to use your mouse or press Command+Tap.

Also Read: 5 Top Common MacBook Pro / Air Butterfly Keyboard Issues Fixed

Split screen on Mac: How to do it

MacOS Monterey, Big Sur and Catalina make it easier than ever to use split screen on a Mac. It is virtually instantaneous to split screen two different apps or two windows from a single app. If you want to view two browser windows side-by-side, a browser window and a text editor side-by-side, or your email and a calendar side-by-side, you can do that. As soon as you understand how Mac split screen mode works, it’s simple to use.

• If you have not already done so, open the two apps or windows that you want to split screen on the Mac.
• When the green maximize button is clicked, a menu will appear; you can choose either “tile window on left” or “tile window on right” to position the app on either side of the Mac split screen.
• You can now select another window or app from the Mission control selector and split-screen them.

• Apple Macs now have split screen mode, allowing you to run two apps or windows simultaneously.

Exiting Split screen on your Mac

The following steps will guide you in leaving the split-screen Mac layout after you have finished using it:

• The first thing you need to do is move your cursor to the sizing buttons at the top left of each window.
• If you want to exit a split screen or close a window, click the red or green buttons on the split screen.
• There is no need to panic! As long as you are in full-screen mode, your other window remains open. Pressing the mission control button (f3) on your Mac keyboard will allow you to access it again.
• In the top right corner of your MacBook screen, you should see two options: Desktop and Split Screen. In the top left corner, click on the green sizing button if you wish to exit full-screen mode.

If you are a person like me who needs to open more than two windows simultaneously, you can always manually resize your windows to fit three or four on your screen at once. Using tiled Mac windows will simply be more visually pleasing.

What is the keyboard shortcut for splitting the screen on the Mac?

The Mac keyboard offers a variety of keyboard shortcuts, and one of them allows you to split the screen.  The full-screen mode can be entered by pressing the Control + Command + F keys together. F3 will launch Mission Control once you’re in full-screen mode, so you can drag another app on top once you’re in full-screen mode. When you click back into the newly tiled apps, you will be able to access the split view.

If that is still too many steps for you, you might consider creating your own keyboard shortcuts. Select “system preferences” then “keyboard” then “shortcuts” and finally “app shortcuts”. Simply click the + button to add a command named “Tile window to left of screen“ using the shortcut you prefer. You can select a second window to add to the split screen on Mac once you activate the shortcut, which will tile your active Mac window to the left.

Is there a reason my Mac won’t split screen?

You should first make sure that fullscreen mode is not currently active.

Only the normal windowed view supports the split screen on Mac. If that is not the problem, check to see whether Mac Displays have separate spaces enabled under System Preferences>Mission Control. In case it isn’t enabled, enable it.

Make sure you’ve updated to macOS 10.11 or later if you don’t see that option in the Mission Control menu. To find out what MacBook operating system version you are running, click the Apple icon in the top left corner of the screen and select About this Mac. If you are using an earlier version, you will need to update by clicking the Software Update button.

It is important to keep in mind that not all apps support split screens. If you have tried everything else and the app is still not tiling in split-screen mode, it probably does not support it.

Conclusion 

The official split-screen feature on Macs is called Split view, which automatically splits two windows in full screen on Mac. It is possible to manually drag your windows so that they fit the desired space if you do not want the full-screen mode, for instance, if you want to be able to quickly navigate between browser tabs. In comparison to the Mac split view, this option gives you a little more customization.

How do you use two apps side by side on your Apple Mac? Is it a split screen or do you simply resize the windows to be next to each other? Does split screen mode work well on the Mac? Share your thoughts about this new Mac feature in the comments, and if you have any tips related to it.

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