After a second, you’ll see a left & right arrow icon appear. Oh and one more tip: If you don’t need an even 50-50 split for your windows, you can hover your cursor between the two. The point is, there are unlimited use cases for this type of split-screen experience. You could be using a text editor on the left and a browser for research on the right, or maybe be watching a video on one side and working in a Google Doc on the other. The above example is just that: An example. Here’s an example of two separate browser tabs of when I was reviewing my current CS grades (3.81 GPA!) and researching requirements for future online Masters programs: You can then drag any other window or browser tab to the other side where it snaps into the remaining half of the screen. Here’s a before and after shot of my Chromebook desktop showing what I mean: Before After Snap to the left and snap to the right!Īt this point, dragging any open browser window or tab to the left or right of the display will “snap” it into place, with it taking up half of the display.
To undo this, just click the middle icon of the three in the very top right of your current browser or app. If you can’t see the desktop background or wallpaper on your Chromebook, you’ve maximized your current window. Don’t maximize your windowsįirst, you want to make sure that you’re not using your browser or apps maximized something I suspect most people asking me about split-screen mode likely do. I find it particularly useful on devices with 3:2 aspect ratios where you get more vertical content but it works on any Chromebook, regardless of the display ratio. In Windows, this approach is typically called “Snap Assist” and it’s easy to do on a Chromebook.
Not a month goes by where I don’t get an email asking about this. Given how long other operating systems have supported side-by-side app viewing, I’m surprised how many Chromebook users don’t realize that Chrome OS supports the same feature.