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Q. I have an iPad Pro and I heard that I can open two apps at once on it, but I don’t know how to do that. Can you write an article at The Wonder of Tech showing how to open two apps side-by-side on my iPad screen? Thank you.
A. You heard right, you can open two apps at once on your iPad. By having two apps open at one time, you can multi-task, move files and photos from one app to another, and easily switch between apps.
There are two ways of having two apps open at once on your iPad screen:
- Side-by-side, called Split View by Apple
- Slide Over, where one app is open in a smaller window over an app which is full screen.
Split View works on iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4. Slide Over works on iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air and later, iPad mini 2 and later.
Both Split View and Slide Over work on iPads in either portrait or landscape views, but they look best in landscape view.
You must have Multitasking turned on in Settings on your iPad. To turn on Multitasking, go to Settings => General => Multitasking & Dock => Allow Multiple Apps => On.
Having Show Suggested and Recent Apps turned on will also make it easier for you to open two apps at once on your iPad. Go to Settings => General => Multitasking & Dock and turn on Show Suggested and Recent Apps.
But First, About the Dock
To open two apps in Split View or Slide Over on your iPad, at least one of the apps must be in your Dock. The Dock is the row of apps at the bottom of your screen. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to show the Dock on your iPad.
Apps will appear in the iPad Dock if you put them there, or if you recently used the app (if you have Show Suggested and Recent Apps turned on in Settings). If you use an app frequently, you should put the app in your Dock so you can open it from any screen.
To put an app in your Dock, press and hold the app icon until it jiggles, then drag it onto the Dock.
How to Open Two Apps Side-by-Side (Split View) on Your iPad
To open two apps side-by-side on your iPad, be sure that the second app you want to open is in your Dock. Open the first app so it appears full-screen on your iPad.
Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to show the Dock. Press and hold the app icon of the second app you want to open.
Drag the app icon from your Dock to the left or right edge of your screen. The second app will open next to the first app, with a black line separating the two apps.
Slide the line between the apps to adjust the size of the open apps.
To close an app in Split View, and have only one app open on the screen, slide the line all the way to the edge of the screen so one app disappears.
Note that not all apps are compatible with Split View.
How to Open Two Apps in Slide Over
You can also open two apps simultaneously with Slide Over, where one app appears over the first one.
To open an app in Slide Over, open the first app, then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to show the Dock. Press and hold the app icon of the app you want to open in Slide Over. Drag the icon on to the screen of the first app, anywhere on the screen except towards the edge of the screen.
The second app will appear in a small window to the side of the screen, over the first app.
To close the Slide Over app, swipe it to the edge of the screen.
How to Switch an App Between Split View and Slide Over
Switching between Split View and Slide Over is easy. At the top of the app on one side of your screen is a small bar. Swipe down on that bar to switch between Split View and Slide Over.
You can also swipe the bar to the side to move that app to the other side of the screen.
How to Open Three Apps at Once on the iPad
If you’re the type of person who keeps copious quantities of tabs open in your computer browser, you may want to have three apps open at once on your iPad.
You can open two apps in Split View, then add a third app in Slide Over. To open a third app in Slide Over, follow the instructions above to open two apps in Split View, then drag an app icon from the Dock onto the line that divides the two Split View apps.
Having three open apps on your iPad is true multitasking!
How to Drag Photos and Files Between Two Open Apps
Having two apps open at once is especially handy when you want to move files or photos between apps. You may want to add a photo to a text message, or share a file in an email.
Note that not all apps support dragging and dropping between apps.
With two apps open, press and hold the file or photo you want to move. The file or photo will be copied to the second app, and will not be removed from the first app.
Drag the file or photo from one app to the other and lift your finger. The file or photo should appear in the second app.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever used two apps at once on your iPad? Do you prefer Split View or Slide Over? Have you ever moved files or photos between apps?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
This is one of the Most Awaited Feature on iPad. I always used to get jealous of my Friends who use Split Screen on Android devices. Am Glad that now I can use this Amazing Feature on my Ipad,
Thank you For sharing this amazing Information.
Hi Radhika, Yes, Slide Over has been available for a while, though Apple changed the way you open a second app on the iPad. It certainly isn’t intuitive, so I’m very glad the Wonder of Tech reader asked this excellent question.
I hope you enjoy multitasking on the iPad, Radhika!