In recent years, ultra-wide monitors have become more affordable – and as a result, their popularity has increased. There is something about this curved monitor that immerses the user in a sea of ??pixels, whether he is reviewing the latest gadget or immersing the watch in a favorite game. But if you only use one window at a time, you may not be able to take full advantage of all the possibilities.
If you split a computer screen monitor, you can run multiple applications, view studies on one half of the screen and a text document on the other, or display different status displays across the entire monitor.
Windows 10 includes a number of features by default that make splitting the screen as easy as dragging and dropping a display, but more complex controls can be achieved with third-party apps.
This article will look at various options for splitting a single monitor that will allow you to take full advantage of your screen space.
Split Screen Using Windows 10 Snap Assist
Windows 10 has a feature called “Snap Assist” that allows you to drag a window to the part of the screen where you want to snap it. First make sure this feature is turned on.
- Click Start and open Settings.
- Click System and select the Multitasking tab. There is a Snap Windows slider here. Make sure it’s on.
You also have the option to select certain options, such as:
- When I dock the window, it automatically resizes to fill the available space.
- When I click the window, show that I can snap next to it.
- When I resize the anchored window, I simultaneously resize any adjacent anchored window.
Once enabled, all you have to do is click and drag the window to one side of the screen. Dragging it to the left side of the screen will cause it to fill the left side of the screen to the midpoint, while dragging to the right will cause it to fill in the opposite direction.
If you drag a window to any of the four corners of the screen, the window will snap to fill the quadrant of the screen. When you drag it to the top of the screen, the window fills the entire screen. Once you’ve secured the window in place, you can take the dividing line between any two windows and adjust the size of each one.
Two windows can be displayed on a split screen, or four can be displayed in a quadrant. You can also configure one window to fill half of the screen, and the other two at the top and bottom of the other half of the screen. However, you cannot snap three windows to a side-by-side arrangement without the help of a third-party application.
Split Screen in Windows XP / 7/8
If you have an older version of Windows, you may not have access to the same built-in tools as Windows 10, and many of the free options won’t work. But fear not: there are still ways to split the screen.
In Windows 7, open two applications. When the two applications open, right-click on the taskbar and select Show Windows Side by side. Voila: you will have two windows open at the same time. It is so simple. And if you quickly select the screenshot below, you can see that you can stack windows on top of each other as well.
Windows 7 was the first version of Windows to support Snap Assist. This worked in a similar way to how it is currently implemented in Windows 10. Simply drag an open window to either the left or right side of the screen in the center and release. It will “snap” into place.
Windows 8 is a little more complex but similar in functionality. Windows 8 was designed with touchscreen devices in mind, but it can still be operated with a mouse. Open two apps and put one in full screen mode. If you are using a touchscreen, swipe in from the left side of the screen until the app is pinned.
If you have a mouse, place it in the upper left corner, press and hold the app, and then drag it into place on the screen. When both applications are installed, a dividing line appears in the center of the screen. You can customize this line to change the amount of space each application takes up.
Split screen using free software
If the built-in Windows 10 apps don’t give you the controls and utilities you need, you can use free apps that provide access to more advanced features. Some of them include WindowsGrid, GridMove and AltDrag. We covered the first two free apps in more detail in a similar post on this topic, which explores how each one works.
The downside of free applications is that developers do nothing or almost nothing for their development, so support for these programs may suddenly end. For long-term support for split-screen apps, consider a paid program that serves a similar purpose.
Paid Software Options
Paid split screen software provides even more features than free and is more reliable because you can be sure that support will continue as long as people continue to buy the software. These programs also offer customer support to help you deal with any technical difficulties you may face.
Here are some of the best options.
Divvy is a window management tool based on the idea of ??”splitting” windows into different parts. At just $ 14, this software fits into most budgets and allows users to split the screen into many settings.
While it works in the same way as Windows Snap Assist, users have more options to position their screens. Divvy allows users to create custom shortcuts to resize and reshape the screen as they see fit.
AquaSnap is similar to Divvy, except that it offers free software for personal use. The “Pro” version costs $ 18. Although less powerful than Divvy, it is also more user-friendly. AquaSnap doesn’t have as many features and controls, but the “Pro” version provides access to keyboard, mouse and other types of keyboard shortcuts that make resizing the screen as easy as pressing a few buttons.
You don’t need an ultra-wide monitor to use any of these tools. Split screen can be useful in any situation where you need to view multiple sources of information at once, but high-resolution displays are where split screen really shines through.
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