How To Use Split Screen Mode On Chromebook - MakeUseOf

Chromebooks tend to have small screens. Wouldn't it be nice to lay out windows side-by-side? You can split the screen on your Chromebook. But it's not as simple as it sounds.

1. Dragging and Dropping

To tile a window on the left or right of your screen, you can drag and drop it. Just grab the window using the menu bar and drag it to the left or right edge of your screen.

You'll see an outline of the window that shows how it will be displayed. Let go of the mouse button and the window will fill half of the screen, similar to window behavior in Windows 10.

This mode is handy if you need to refer to one document while working on the other on the same screen.

2. Using the Maximize Button

You can also tile windows side-by-side using the maximize button. Just click and hold the button, located in the top-right corner. You'll see two arrows on the left and right of the button. Move over one of them while still holding down the mouse button and you'll see the same outline you would as if you were dragging and dropping. When you release the button, the window will move to that side of the screen.

3. Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can also use keyboard shortcuts to split the screen and move windows. The Alt + [ and Alt + ] shortcuts will move a window to the right or left sides of the screen. It will not only split the screen but also move already tiled windows. And it's faster than using the mouse.

Related: All Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts: The Chrome OS Cheat Sheet

Now You Can Split the Screen on a Chromebook

You may have seen people split the screen on other systems, like Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop environments, to display windows side-by-side. But have you wondered how you could do the same thing on a Chromebook?

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Now that you know how easy it is to do it with mouse and keyboard shortcuts, you can take advantage of it to make working with multiple windows easier.

Just getting into Chromebooks? You can get the most out of your new Chromebook by following a few simple tips.