How To Split Screen On Mac

Tips
1

I’m trying to work with two apps side by side on my Mac but I can’t figure out how to properly split the screen. I’ve tried dragging windows around and using full-screen mode, but it never lines up the way I want. Can someone explain the right way to use split screen on macOS, and any tips or shortcuts I should know to make multitasking smoother?

2

On macOS there are two main ways to do split screen. Sounds like you are fighting both at once.

  1. Official Split View

This locks two apps side by side with a divider.

• Move your mouse to the top left of a window.
• Hover over the green full screen button for a second.
• A menu pops up.

  • Choose “Tile Window to Left of Screen” or “Tile Window to Right of Screen”.
    • Your other open windows show on the other side.
    • Click the second app you want.
    Now both apps fill the screen, half and half.
    You drag the black divider in the middle to resize each side.
    To exit, move the mouse to the top, wait for the menu bar, then click the green button again.

Notes:
• Some apps do not support Split View. If you do not see the “Tile” options, that app does not support it.
• Works best on macOS Catalina and newer for this exact menu wording.

  1. Manual side by side

If you do not want full screen Split View and want more control.

• Make sure both windows are in regular windowed mode, not full screen.
• Click and hold the green button once to toggle out of full screen if needed.
• Drag the first window to the left edge of the screen and resize it.

  • Use the corners to resize.
  • You can hold Option while dragging a corner to resize more symmetrically.
    • Drag the second window to the right edge and resize to fill the rest.

macOS does not “snap” like Windows by default. You have to line things up by hand if you skip Split View.

  1. Quick keyboard method via Mission Control

Not as clean, but works.

• Put both apps in full screen “Spaces” first if you use that workflow.
• Press F3 or Control + Up Arrow to open Mission Control.
• Drag one app thumbnail onto another full screen app thumbnail.
Now they share the same Split View space.

  1. Check your version

The exact menu text depends on your macOS version.

• Apple menu > About This Mac.
• On Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma you should see:

  • Enter Full Screen
  • Tile Window to Left of Screen
  • Tile Window to Right of Screen
    If you do not see “Tile Window”, go to:
    • System Settings > Desktop & Dock
    • Under “Windows & Apps”, make sure “Displays have separate Spaces” is on.
    Then log out and log back in.
  1. If you want smarter snapping

If you want Windows style snapping with quarter screens etc, you use a window manager app. A few common ones people use:

• Rectangle
• Magnet
• BetterSnapTool

These let you drag a window to an edge to snap, or use shortcuts like
• Control + Option + Left Arrow for left half
• Control + Option + Right Arrow for right half

For your case right now, simplest path:

• Hover the green button on your main app.
• Pick “Tile Window to Left of Screen”.
• Click the second app on the right.
You get a clean split, no guessing, no fiddling.

3

If Split View keeps annoying you, you’re not alone. Apple made it a bit “magical” instead of just letting windows snap like on Windows.

@suenodelbosque covered the official way pretty well, so here are some different angles that might fit how you actually work:

1. Use keyboard shortcuts plus manual resize (no Split View at all)

If you hate going in and out of full screen spaces:

  1. Make sure both apps are in normal window mode (click green button once if they’re full screen).
  2. Use Control + ↓ to see all windows of the current app and pick the exact one you want.
  3. Bring that to the front, then use:
    • Option + Double‑click the top edge to maximize height only.
    • Option + Drag a corner so it resizes from the center, which makes left/right splits less fiddly.
  4. Put one app on the left, one on the right, and just leave them there.

It’s not “snap,” but once you get used to Option-drag and Option-double‑click, you can line stuff up fast without committing to Split View’s full‑screen space.

2. Use a third‑party tiler but only simple halves

People install things like Rectangle or Magnet and then drown in shortcuts. You don’t have to. Set literally just two:

  • Left half: Control + Option + Left
  • Right half: Control + Option + Right

Ignore quarters, thirds, grids, all that. Then your workflow becomes:

  1. Click window 1 → press Ctrl + Opt + Left
  2. Click window 2 → press Ctrl + Opt + Right

Done, perfect 50/50 split, no Full Screen, no weird Spaces behavior.

3. Make Split View less annoying by tweaking Spaces usage

Where I disagree a bit with relying on Split View: it’s great only if you are okay living in Apple’s Spaces world.

To tame it:

  1. Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
  2. Turn off “Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use.”
    • Otherwise your split spaces keep jumping around, which is maddening.
  3. Decide on a simple rule:
    • Space 1: normal desktop
    • Space 2: Split View for “work”
    • Space 3: maybe another Split View (browsing + notes)

When you know where your split is, Control + Right/Left Arrow to jump is less of a mental tax.

4. Avoid the Mission Control drag trick if you’re already frustrated

The “drag one full‑screen window onto another in Mission Control” move that some folks mention looks cool, but it’s:

  • Slower than the hover‑green‑button menu
  • Easy to drop the window in the wrong place and end up with a third Space
    If Split View already feels fiddly, I’d skip this approach.

5. Simple recipe that keeps control in your hands

Given what you wrote about things “never lining up,” I’d honestly try:

  • Skip Split View for now.
  • Use normal windows + Option‑drag to size them.
  • If that still bugs you, install Rectangle or Magnet and only use left/right half shortcuts.

That gets you the side‑by‑side layout every time without fighting Apple’s full‑screen / Spaces system.