Split Screen on a Chromebook (2022)

In this tutorial, we have included five different ways to snap windows and split the screen in different positions. One of them requires you to enable the new Partial Split Chrome flag, along with the “Always on top” functionality. On that note, let’s begin.

1. Split Screen on a Chromebook with the Maximize Button

Apart from maximizing and restoring the window size, the Maximize button has other utilities too. You can use it to split the screen on your Chromebook. Here is how you can do it.

  1. On an active window, click and hold the “Maximize” button on the title bar. An arrow indicator will then appear on the left and right sides of the maximize button. Simply drag to the left side, and the window will snap to the left side.
  2. Repeat the same process for another window. Click and hold the “Maximize” button and drag it to the right. And voila, you have successfully split the screen on your Chromebook. Now, you can see two windows at the same time.

2. Split Screen on a Chromebook Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Much like Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts, you can easily split the screen on a Chromebook using shortcuts as well. Here’s how it works:

  1. When you are on an active window, simply press “Shift + [” to snap the window to the left side.
  2. To snap another window to the right side of your Chromebook screen, click on that window to make it active and press “Shift + ]“. This way, you can quickly split the screen on your Chromebook.
  3. To re-adjust the window size in split-screen mode, hover the mouse cursor on the center where the two windows meet. A slider will appear right there. Now, hold and move the slider to whichever side you want to resize the windows automatically.

3. Split Screen on a Chromebook Using Touchpad Gestures

Apart from keyboard shortcuts, you can use touchpad gestures to split the screen on your Chromebook. Yeah, even Chrome OS supports a handful of intuitive touch gestures, and here’s how they work:

  1. If you have multiple windows open, do a three-finger swipe up on the touchpad to open the overview menu.
  2. Now, click and hold on one of the windows and drag it to the left or right side, as per your preference. The window will snap to that position instantly.
  3. On the other side, click on your choice of window, and it will split the screen on your Chromebook. That’s effortless, right?

4. How to Split Screen on a Touchscreen Chromebook

If you are using a Chrome OS tablet or a touchscreen Chromebook in tent or tablet mode, you can split the screen using touch gestures. It works similarly to touchpad gestures, but there are some more functionalities. Here is how to use it.

  1. Similar to Android phone gestures, do a one-finger swipe up and hold to open the overview menu. Here, press and hold the window of your choice and drag it to either left or right.
  2. After that, you can tap on the second window on the other side, and the screen will be split into two windows.
  3. You can also swipe up from the Shelf (Taskbar) to open new apps in split-screen mode on your Chromebook.
  4. Apart from that, you can quickly change windows on either side. Simply do a one-finger swipe up on either side and select a different window.

5. Snap Windows on Chromebook Using Windows 11-Like Snap Layouts

One of the best features of Windows 11 is Snap Layouts, which lets you quickly snap windows to different positions on your screen. Taking inspiration from that, Google has also been working on a similar window-snapping feature called “Partial Split”. The feature is already live on all Chrome OS channels – Stable, Beta, and Dev (Chrome OS 105 or above). That said, it’s still hidden behind some Chrome flags, so you need to enable Partial Split on your Chromebook manually. Here is how to go about it.

  1. Make sure your Chromebook is updated to Chrome OS 105 or above. After that, open your Chrome browser and paste the below address. Now, enable the feature from the drop-down menu.
  2. Next, paste the below address and enable this feature as well. It will turn on the “Stay on top” feature within the Partial Split menu. Now, click on “Restart” to apply the changes.
  3. Once you are logged in, simply hover the mouse cursor on the “Maximize” button, and the Partial Split menu will appear almost instantly. You can split the screen in half, partial, or full-screen mode on your Chromebook. There is also the “float on top” feature that lets you pin a window on top of everything.
  4. This is how the Partial Split feature works on the Chromebook. Since the feature is still locked behind a flag, we expect Google to add more split views, keyboard shortcuts, and features before a wider rollout.

Easily Multi-task With Multiple Windows on Chromebooks

So these are the five methods you can utilize to handle multiple windows at once on your Chromebook. Partial Split is another great multi-tasking split-screen feature coming to all Chromebooks. We await the general rollout of the feature to wider users. Meanwhile, you can use keyboard shortcuts and touchpad gestures to snap your windows. To learn more such Chromebook tips and tricks, you can head to our in-depth article. And if you are wondering how to screenshot on a Chromebook, we have a guide in place for that as well. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.