Simple tutorials to help you become a smarter Apple user in 3 minutes or less. Former Apple Certified Consultant and Macintosh Technician of 7 years.
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π Turbocharge your iPad workflows with multitasking
Published 3 months agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hey Reader,! π
For this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to use more than one iPad app at a time.
π The issue
iPads are terrific consumption devices for things like streaming video and reading web articles. But they can also be powerful productivity devices to get things done, too.
You can manage your email. You can research a family vacation. You can pay bills online. And you can shop for new Crocs for your kids.
Sometimes, you might need to combine a few different apps at once.
Explore a restaurant's menu while getting driving directions.
Take notes while watching a YouTube video on how to install a kitchen faucet.
See your grocery list in Reminders while adding items to your pick-up order.
Unfortunately, most of us rely on manually switching back and forth between single apps.
This can be inefficient and frustrating.
π€ Did you know?
Apple provides two simple ways to show two iPad apps on the screen at once, called Split View and Slide Over.
Out of the box, it's not always obvious how to use them. And it can take some practice to get comfortable using these features.
Before we look at how to use more than one app at a time, here's a few things to be aware of:
Not all apps from the App Store support multitasking. Each app developer needs to program their app to support these features from Apple. In my experience, most apps I use do support it but it's something to be aware of anyways.
If you have an iPad older than 3 years or so, it might not support these multitasking features. Check this list to see if your iPad meets the technical requirements.
π Give it a try
Let's take a look at how to use Split View and Slide Over on your iPad.
πͺ Using Split View
Split View displays two apps side by side, with a black partition in the middle of the display. It's great for situations where you need to keep referring to or moving data between two apps.
Here's how to use it...
While using an app, tap the three dots at the top of the app.
Tap the option for Split View. This will move the app you're using to the side and show your Home Screen.
Select the second app you want to open from the Home Screen.
The two apps will appear in Split View and will behave independently. You can even drag content from one app across the black partition to the other app.
To take one of the apps back to Full Screen mode, tap the 3 dots at the top of the app and choose Full Screen.
To close one of the two apps in Split View, tap the three dots at the top and choose Close.
Safari (left) and Notes (right), arranged in Split View.
To see how Split View works on an iPad, check out this video:
Slide Over displays the main app in full-screen. It shows another app in a small floating window on the left or right side of the display. It's great for quickly checking information from one app while working on something else. The benefit of using Slide Over is the ability to quickly slide the second app out of the way when you're done using it.
Here's how to use it...
While using an app, tap the three dots at the top.
Tap the option for Slide Over. This will move the app you're using to the side and show your Home Screen.
Select the second app from your Home Screen. Then the second app opens and the first app appears in a smaller Slide Over window in front of it.
The two apps will appear on the display at once and will behave independently.
To take one of the apps back to Full Screen mode, tap the 3 dots at the top of the app and choose Full Screen.
To close one of the two apps in Slide Over, tap the three dots at the top and choose Close.
Safari (left) and Notes (right), using Slide Over.
To see how Slide Over works on an iPad, check out this video:
You did it! Now you can be more productive with your iPad by using more than one app at a time.
If you need ideas on how to apply Split View or Slide Over to your iPad workflow, please let me know!
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