How to Split Screen on a Mac – Guide
Multitasking is a great way to be able to work with multiple applications and windows at the same time. This can be frustrating if you need to switch between them, or if you need to view two windows at the same time. For example, if you are copying information from a document to a spreadsheet, it can be helpful to have these two windows side by side.
If you’re using macOS Catalina or later, you can use this feature. This way, if you have a dual monitor setup, you can have two apps on one screen and still have the split-screen view.
How to Split screen on a Mac
In order to use Split View mode on your Mac, you’ll need to make sure that the Views setting in System Preferences is checked.
Split View mode is supported by all operating systems starting from OS X El Capitan. The latest macOS — macOS Catalina — differs in the sequence of actions required to launch the mode. In the following sections, we describe the steps for macOS Catalina and other operating system versions.
macOS Catalina
- Open System Preferences and select the “Display” tab.
- Scroll down to the “Split Screen” section and select the checkbox next to “Catalina.”
- Click on the “Apply” button to change the setting.
You will now see a menu that looks like this: -Select “Close Window” to close the window. -Click on “OK” to close the window.
In the menu that appears, select the option Tile Window to the Right of Screen or Tile Window to Left of Screen. The window will fill the chosen area
To open a second window on your computer screen, you first need to select the window you want to open. To do this, open the empty half of the screen and select the second window you would like to open. ..
Other versions of macOS
To launch split-screen in earlier versions of Mac OS X:
In the upper left corner of your screen, click and hold the green circle with the arrows facing out.
The window will shrink and you can simply drag it to one side of the screen.
Fix the window on the left or right side to release it from its frame. ..
To use the other half of the screen, select another window.
How to Use Mission Control on a Mac
You can use Mission Control to quickly switch between all active windows on your Mac. This makes accessing any of the open windows on your Mac simple and more productive.
To start Mission Control, use one of the following methods:
Press F3, the button for Mission Control on your MacBook keyboard to access the computer’s main menu. This will open a window that allows you to select which application you want to launch from the list.
To increase the magnification of an image, hold down the Control key and press the Up Arrow key. ..
Touch the screen with your four or three fingers to slide up or down.
To use the Magic Mouse, first double-click with two fingers to open the main menu. Then, click on the icon that looks like a mouse pointer. ..
Open Mission Control and navigate to the Open Launchpad app
If you’re running OS X El Capitan, you can drag the window to the top of the screen to make it easier to see. ..
When you open a new window, it is placed in the top Spaces pane in the Mission Control view. ..
By navigating to the top panel in Mission Control, you can access the following locations on your Mac:
The desktops on the primary and secondary computers are different. The primary desktop is the one that is used most often, and it is where the user’s programs and documents are stored. The secondary desktop is used for tasks that are less important or when the user wants to access files that are not on the primary desktop.
Open Split View in your program to see multiple programs at the same time. This is useful for viewing multiple files at the same time, or for viewing a large image in one window and smaller images in another window.
Applications are opening in normal mode, but there is a message that says “Please enter your name.”
How to adjust split-screen view on a Mac
If you have a Split View app that takes up more than half of the screen, you can adjust how much space it takes up by holding down the black screen separator and moving it to the left or right. Some apps need a certain amount of screen space, so be sure to keep that in mind when adjusting the tab. ..
In Catalina, regulating the width of the window space is a little different. You can use the Zoom function to adjust the size of the windows.
If you need to switch the positions of the windows with each other, you can hold the gray top of one of the windows and drag it to the opposite side of the screen. The part of the window you click on will be active, while the other part will be in Preview mode.
If your computer’s display looks too small when you’re using it in Split View mode, you can change the resolution settings. To do this, go to Apple menu → System Preferences → Displays → Display → Scaled. Then select one of the options from the list and make sure you are happy with how it looks in Split View mode. ..
To zoom in on an object or text in one of the windows, spread your thumb and index finger apart on the trackpad and use an expansion gesture you would use to zoom in on an image on your Mac.
In Split View mode, the Dock and the menu bar at the top of the screen are not visible. To view the top menu bar, simply move the cursor to the top of the screen.
To change an app, open it in split-screen mode, exit the mode, and open Mission Control. Drag one of the program windows to another application from the Space menu bar. Alternatively, just repeat launching Split View with a different app. ..
How to exit split-screen view on Mac
To exit Split View mode on a MacBook, press the Escape key to return windows to normal mode. However, this method may not work if the Escape key has a different function in one of the apps. In that case, you can click on the green circle at the top of the window to exit one of the applications. To exit the other app, open it (it will be in fullscreen mode) and click on the green circle as well. Alternatively, you can exit Split View through Mission Control by simply clicking on the button with inward-facing arrows in the Split View window on the Space menu bar. Both windows will return to their normal size. ..
Final note
This guide will show you how to split screen on a Mac, so that you can work on multiple documents at the same time. ..