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.

WORKAROUND: Read somewhere that to get (temporarily) the resizing bar, you drag one of the split windows by the title to the other side of the monitor. 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.

macOS Catalina

1. Hover your pointer over the full-screen button in the upper-left corner of a window. Or click and hold the button.
2. 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.
   
3. Click a window on the other side of the screen to begin using both windows side by side.

Other macOS versions

1. Click and hold the full-screen button in the upper-left corner of a window.
2. As you hold the button, the window shrinks and you can drag it to the left or right side of the screen.
3. 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

1. Move the pointer to the top of the screen to reveal the window buttons.
2. Click the full-screen button in either window. That window exits Split View.
3. 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.

Two screens are better than one.

But, it's not always possible to have that set up and you're stuck with just your laptop. If you need to work in two applications at once, it can be annoying to toggle back and forth between them. You can now mimic the feeling of having two screens by using split-screen on your Macbook.

Split-screen on Mac sections your desktop into two halves to see two applications side by side in one view.

How do I use split-screen on my Macbook?

1. Hold down the green full-screen button in the top left of the selected window.
2. As you hold the button, the window shrinks. Drag it to the preferred side of your screen – highlighted in blue.
3. Release the button.
4. Select another application from the desktop on the opposite side to begin working in two applications at once.

Unfortunately you can’t split-screen three ways on a Mac. But you could adjust the windows in a way that could show you more than two in your regular viewing mode, they just might be too small to read or work in.

Split View can be used for a variety of applications – even two windows of the same application can be seen at once. For example, you can split your screen in order to have two Microsoft Word documents side by side. Let’s walk through this example together.

1. Hold the full-screen button on the selected window

Choose the first window you want to use for split-screen. It seems counterintuitive, but make this window full-screen by holding down the green button.

Interested in this article too? Learn how to zip a file on a Mac!

2. Drag window to one side of the screen

The window will shrink so that you can drag it to one side of the screen (highlighted in blue).

3. Let go of the window

When you have the window where you want it, simply release the button to drop it. Crossover mac.

4. Select another window to display

From the smaller-sized desktop on the opposite side, select the other window you want to view side by side.

Check out 5 reasons why your Mac is running slow.

How to exit split-screen on Mac

There are a few different ways you can exit split-screen mode.

• Press the “esc” button on your keyboard.
• Hover your mouse at the top of the screen to show the window options. Click on the green full-screen button.

When you exit Split View, your second window will still be in full-screen mode on another desktop screen. To access it, switch to it with Misson Control or use the touch gesture on your trackpad to scroll over (swipe left to right with four fingers on the trackpad).

How to adjust split-screen on Mac

You can also adjust the size of the windows in split-screen mode. Simply grab and drag the black bar in the middle of the screen.

Multitask your heart out

Now you can simulate having two screens on one. Work in two applications side by side at the same time without having to switch back and forth.

Want more Macbook tips? Learn how to screenshot on a Mac and how to find them afterwards. Then, free up some space by force quitting some of your apps.