This article explains how to use split screen on a Chromebook running any up-to-date version of Chrome OS.
How to view two tabs side by side on a Chromebook?
The Split Screen feature is different from Chrome OS laptops, tablets, and convertible devices. First, we’ll cover the steps for using a split screen on a laptop-like device.
1. Click and drag the title bar of the window you want to move so that it is side by side.
2. Drag it to the left or right of the screen as desired.
3. You will notice that half of the screen displays a transparent white overlay.
4. Release the mouse button.
5. You will notice that the window snaps to the selected side, taking up 50% of the screen width.
6. Do the same in the opposite direction and you have setup a split screen.
7. You can also achieve the same by pressing Alt+ [pour mosaïquer une fenêtre sur le côté gauche de l’écran, ou Alt +] to align it to the right.
8. Once you have split the screen, you can drag the border between the two windows to change the 50-50 ratio to something that suits your needs.
9. Finally, dragging the title bar will bring the window back out of split mode.
Using split screen on a Chrome tablet
If your device is touchscreen only, not only will you not have a keyboard, but the overall Chrome OS interface is slightly different. Namely, apps are displayed full screen by default, which means there is no title bar. You can still use split screen, however, as follows:
1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. If the current window is shrinking, you stopped the gesture a little too soon. Try again by swiping all the way up the screen.
2. The window will shrink to a tile, then join the tiles representing all your other windows. This is called Preview mode.
3. Now you can tap and hold any of the tiles, at which point you will see opaque white regions appear on the left and right sides of the screen.
4. Drag your tile over one of these regions and release it.
5. The window will tile to the left or to the right, depending on where you dropped it.
6. To return the window to full screen, using the same gesture from step 1 on the half of the screen it occupies will reduce it to a tile again in Overview mode.
7. Tap a thumbnail to display the selected window in full screen. Note that this will bring all windows back to fullscreen once you switch.
How does split screen work on Chromebooks and tablets?
Chromebooks’ split-screen feature is great for showing two windows simultaneously and quickly switching between them. How you use it will depend on whether your Chrome OS device has a laptop or tablet form factor (or if it’s a convertible, which mode you’re currently in).
But the effect is the same: you’ll have two apps open side by side, each taking up half the screen. Just knowing it can increase your productivity (say, taking notes in Google Keep while browsing the web) or sending it to the tubes (working on a report in Word while watching Netflix).
If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know in the comments. Also consult this guide if you want to learn how to reset a chromebook to factory settings.
