How to Split Your Screen in Windows 10 (and Windows 11 Snap Layouts)

To split your screen in Windows 10, drag a window to the edge of the screen to use Snap Assist, or press the Windows key plus the Left or Right arrow key. Windows has always been a great environment for multitasking, with the ability to run several applications at once and switch between them with relative ease. In Windows 10, Microsoft tightened the snapping mechanism and expanded its functionality. As of June 2022, the latest version of Windows 10 offers several ways to split your screen into multiple windows and get real work done, with higher-resolution displays and better support for multiple monitors. How do you split your screen in Windows 10? Let's find out together.

How Do You Split Your Screen in Windows 10?

Before we begin, we want to mention that we will be talking about split-screen multitasking in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Both operating systems let you use what is known as Snap Assist. As we will explain later, Snap Assist is a Windows feature that suggests ways to group your open apps together when you use a certain keyboard shortcut. Nothing you snap through Snap Assist is "saved". If you quit an app, you have to trigger that split screen manually again. The same applies if you choose to open another app or minimize the Taskbar.

However, in Windows 11, Microsoft improved on this. Snap Assist has been expanded with a new feature known as Snap Layouts. In Windows 11 you can still use the Snap Assist keyboard shortcuts, but compared with Windows 10, Snap Layouts in Windows 11 give you expanded ways to use split screen. There are ways to group and save your open apps, so if you minimize your apps to the taskbar, Windows remembers them as a Snap Group and you do not lose your place. There is also a visual suggestion (with up to six ways) of how you can split the screen through Snap Layouts, in a pop-up when you hover over the maximize button - you cannot get that in Windows 10.

How Do You Use Snap Assist in Windows 10?

One of Windows 10's most important contributions to split-screen multitasking is Snap Assist, which makes it easy to pick an open app window when choosing which apps to arrange on your screen. Here is how to use it:

• Select the window you want to snap to one half of the screen, then drag it to the edge.
• If you have other windows or apps open when you snap your chosen window, you will also see a set of options that can fill the second half. Click one and it will automatically snap into place opposite the first window. If you do not do this and the selection grid disappears, drag your second window to the edge of the empty space.
• To resize the two windows, hover the cursor over the dividing line until it becomes two arrows. Click and hold the divider to adjust the two windows as needed. However, there is a limit to how narrow a window can be.

How Do You Use the Keyboard Shortcut?

Want a faster way to do this on your keyboard? There is a really useful shortcut for splitting windows. In an active window, hold the Windows key and then press the Left or Right arrow key. This should automatically snap the active window to the left or right. Select another window to fill the second empty area. If you want to expand a window back to full screen, just press the Windows key and the Up arrow key together. If you accidentally make a quarter window instead of a half window, you can also use the Windows and Up or Down arrow keys to expand it.

How Do You Turn Off Snap Assist and Adjust Settings in Windows 10?

Snap Assist is easy to disable if it becomes a hassle. Here is how:

• Open the Settings app. It is the gear icon in the Start Menu.
• Select System.
• Select Multitasking, listed on the left.
• Click the toggle displayed under Snap Windows to turn this feature off . If you would rather disable specific Snap Assist features instead of turning it off entirely, there are three settings you can disable. Ignore step 4 and untick the boxes next to each setting as needed.

How Do You Split Your Screen in Windows 11?

Snap Layouts in Windows 11 is a new feature in the new Microsoft operating system that helps boost productivity and split your screen. It is very similar to Snap Assist in Windows 10 but offers six different ways to tile a window. Snap Layouts adapt to the current screen size and orientation, including support for three side-by-side windows on large landscape screens and top/bottom stacked windows on portrait screens.

• Press the Windows Key and Z on your keyboard, and you will see a box pop up at the top right of the open window. You can also hover over the maximize button to see the various ways to use split screen.
• Choose one of the split screen layouts for your window. There will be a total of six to choose from. Windows will open the task switcher and suggest you pick one of your open windows. When you select an open window, it will snap into place.
• If you have trouble getting Snap Layouts to work, just press the Windows Key and Left or the Windows Key and Right on your keyboard . Or follow our steps above for Windows 10. It is the same on both operating systems.

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