If you use your laptop for work, multitasking is pretty important. Split screen functionality is one of the nicest features out there to help get things done. Most people are familiar with multitasking gestures on their phone, but you can also use similar gestures or use a mouse trick to enable a split screen on your Chromebook.

In fact, there are many ways to enable split screen in ChromeOS. You can take advantage of split screen functionality in clamshell mode, tablet mode, or tent mode. In this tutorial, we'll look at all the ways you can enable split screen on your Chromebook or other ChromeOS device.

How to split screen on a Chromebook

Using your mouse

The simplest way to split screen on a Chromebook is to first open all the windows you'd like to split screen. From there onwards, there's a mouse trick that you can use in ChromeOS.

  1. Using the cursor, hover over the maximize button on the window. It's the button in the middle near the (X) for closing a window.
  2. Pick the Split option.
    Split screen option in ChromeOS
  3. The window you just had open will split to the left side of the screen at 50% size on your desired side of the screen.
  4. Repeat the same for the other window on the opposite side, and you’re ready to multitask.

You can long-press the maximize/minimize button next to the close window button up on the top-right of your window/app top bar and you’ll see an arrow appear on both sides. Simply slide your finger over the side you want to move the window to. This will create a 50% window on your chosen side. This is probably the fastest method for multitasking. If you love keyboard shortcuts for multitasking, check out our full guide to ChromeOS keyboard shortcuts.

Using a keyboard shortcut

Don't want to use your mouse to split screen on a Chromebook? No worries, there's a keyboard shortcut for that, too.

  1. Open the window you want to tile.
  2. Press the Alt button on your keyboard.
    A keyboard on a Chromebook
  3. While holding Alt, press [ to tile your window to the left.
  4. While holding Alt, press ] to tile your window to the right.

Split screen in overview mode

For a bit fancier approach, in desktop/clamshell mode, you can enter the overview mode. Overview mode is similar to the experience you get on a Windows system when you enter Task View in Windows 10 or Windows 11. Here's how you can use it.

  1. Use the shortcut key on the top of your keyboard or use a 3-finger swipe up on the trackpad to enter overview mode.
    Overview mode in ChromeOS
  2. Drag and drop the preview of the mini windows to either side to expand them into a split view.

No matter which method you choose in clamshell mode, you can easily resize the windows. To resize both windows simultaneously, hover the divider between the split-screen windows and a small box will appear beneath your pointer that will allow you to resize. This method shows you a real-time preview of exactly what the split screen will look like when you finish.

Split screen on a Chromebook in tablet/tent mode

If you use your Chromebook a lot as a tablet, the good news is that you can still split screen in this mode. It takes a bit more patience since you'll be using your fingers, but practice makes perfect. Note that to effectively navigate split screen in tablet or tent mode, you need to comfortably move between full-screen and overview mode. Here's how to use it.

  1. Swipe down from the top of your screen.
  2. Choose one of the formats you want to snap your window into.
    A Chromebook's multitasking bar in tablet mode
  3. Tap the second open app to fill the screen.
  4. Continue this for all open apps.

In tablet mode, you can also resize your split screen apps, but you don't have full control over the sizing like in clamshell mode. To resize in tablet mode, touch the divider bar and pause for just a second until you see the bar become slightly wider. After you see this animation, drag the bar to divide the screen into a one-quarter/three-quarter layout or half-and-half. These sizing options are more limited, but they tend to work pretty well for most tablet applications on a Chromebook.

Split screen mode is easy to enable on your Chromebook. There are a number of ways to accomplish split screen view, from keyboard shortcuts to touch input. If you're still setting up a new Chromebook, don't miss our full ChromeOS setting guide for more tips.