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More Alternatives to Split Screen Mac #1. Moom, a small independent company, offered by Many Tricks, empowers you to split screen on Mac with keyboard shortcuts or the mouse, or to mix up the two.Moom takes its name from the conjoining of “Move” and “Zoom”, as these are the two main things you can do with the app.
- Your Mac computer has a split-screen feature that will automatically resize two windows to let you work side-by-side in two apps.
- Split screen view works on a MacBook screen or desktop monitor.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
We all work on multiple windows at once. You need information from the web to write something in a document or fill in a spreadsheet. Or you have to read a PDF of a report while you compose an email introducing it to your team.
You can easily size windows on your Mac by clicking and dragging the edge. But you might still end up with multiple windows floating around. When you go to your Word doc, your spreadsheet disappears. Then your browser window covers your email.
Split-screen view is a simple and elegant solution to the floating windows problem. Split view neatly positions two windows to fill your entire screen. Your other 296 windows disappear, temporarily. Think of it as a dual focus mode.
How to enter split screen mode on a Mac
At the upper left of every Mac window, you’ll see three buttons: red, yellow, green. When you hover over the green button, arrows appear. You can click on this to expand the window to full screen or contract it back.
The green button is also your ticket to split screen mode:
1. Click and hold the green button. Your window will get a bit smaller. It’s ready to enter split screen mode.
2. Stop clicking and your window will move to the left half of your screen or monitor.
3. On the right half of your screen, the other windows you have open appear. Click on the one you want to view.
4. Your second window will pop into the right side of your screen. If you want to switch sides, simply drag either window to the other side from the menu bar of either window.
5. If you want to make one window wider or narrower, click the border between your two windows. Drag your cursor to make one smaller and one larger. Your two windows will still fill the entire screen.
6. Your menu bars, including the red, yellow, green dots, disappears in this mode. Move your cursor to the top of your screen and the menu bar reappears over both windows.
It’s easy to toggle back and forth between two documents in split screen view. You can also toggle between your split screen and other apps. Just use Mission Control or swipe left or right on your trackpad with a multi-touch gesture.
Your dual screen pair will be waiting for you when you’re ready to switch back.
How to exit split screen mode on Mac
To leave split screen and return to your 296 windows, slide your cursor up to the top of the screen until the green button reappears. Click to reduce the size of your window. The window you’re in will revert to its pre-split screen shape. The other window will go into full-screen mode.
Navigate to the second window by clicking the app, using Mission Control to show all your windows (pictured above), or swipe to it on your track pad. To exit full-screen view, again use the green button to resize your window.
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Enter Split View
Split View requires OS X El Capitan or later, and the steps differ slightly based on which macOS you're using. If these steps don't work, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Mission Control, and make sure that “Displays have separate Spaces” is selected.
macOS Catalina
- Hover your pointer over the full-screen button in the upper-left corner of a window. Or click and hold the button.
- Choose ”Tile Window to Left of Screen” or ”Tile Window to Right of Screen” from the menu. The window then fills that side of the screen.
- Click a window on the other side of the screen to begin using both windows side by side.
Other macOS versions
- Click and hold the full-screen button in the upper-left corner of a window.
- As you hold the button, the window shrinks and you can drag it to the left or right side of the screen.
- Release the button, then click a window on the other side of the screen to begin using both windows side by side.
Work in Split View
In Split View, you can use both apps side by side, without the distraction of other apps.
- Choose a window to work in by clicking anywhere in that window.
- Show the menu bar by moving the pointer to the top of the screen.
- Swap window positions by dragging a window to the other side.
- Adjust window width by dragging the vertical line between the windows.
- Switch to other apps or your desktop with Mission Control, or use a Multi-Touch gesture such as swiping left or right with four fingers on your trackpad.
Exit Split View
- Move the pointer to the top of the screen to reveal the window buttons.
- Click the full-screen button in either window. That window exits Split View.
- The other window switches to full-screen view. You can switch to the full-screen window with Mission Control, or use a Multi-Touch gesture such as swiping left or right with four fingers on your trackpad.