Multitasking

With drag and drop, you can use a finger to move text and items within an app and copy items from one app to another. You can move an image from Notes into an email, for example (not all third-party apps support drag and drop).

The Insert icon shows you where you can drop an item, and a long document scrolls automatically when you reach its top or bottom.

Here’s how to move and copy items with drag and drop on iPad.

Move an item

1. Locate the item you want to move.
2. Touch and hold the item until it lifts up (if it’s text, select it first).
3. Drag it to another location within the app.

   If you drag to the bottom or top of a long document, it automatically scrolls.

Copy an item between open apps

1. Open two apps and then touch and hold the item you want to copy until it lifts up (if it’s text, select it first).
2. Drag it to the other app.

   As you drag, the Insert icon appears wherever you can drop the item. If you drag to the bottom or top of a long document, the document automatically scrolls.

   Tip: If you want to drag the item to a new note or email, open the new note or email first so you can drag the item directly to it.

Copy an item to an app on the Home Screen or in the Dock

1. Locate the item you want to copy (if it’s text, select it).
2. Touch and hold the item until it lifts up.
3. While continuing to hold the item, use another finger to swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen and then either pause to reveal the Dock or press the Home button (on an iPad with a Home button).
4. Drag the item over the other app to open it (a ghost image of the item appears under your finger as you drag).

   You can drag over items in the app to navigate to where you want to drop the item (as you drag, the Insert icon appears wherever you can drop the item). For example, you can drag over the notes list to open the note where you want to drop the item, or you can use another finger to open a new note where you can drop the item.

If you change your mind about moving the item, lift your finger before dragging, or drag the item off the screen.

Select multiple items to move

1. Locate and select the items you want to move.
2. Touch and hold the first selected item, drag it slightly, and continue holding it.
3. While still holding the first item, tap additional items with another finger. A badge indicates the number of selected items.
4. Drag all of the items together.

If you change your mind about moving items, lift your finger before dragging, or drag the items off the screen.

See also

• Work with multiple windows at the same time on iPad

There are a few ways to streamline the workflow on iPad. You can learn how to quickly switch between apps, resize and arrange multiple app windows on your screen, and more. You can also use multiple apps at the same time, find commands in the menu bar, and access your folders from the Dock.

Switch between apps on iPad

To see all your open windows and apps, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, then pause in the middle. Tap a window to bring it to the front. Or, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, just far enough to reveal the Dock, then tap the app you want to use.

To quickly switch between open apps, swipe left or right along the bottom edge of the screen.

Use multiple apps at the same time

First, go to the Settings app, tap Multitasking & Gestures, then choose Windowed Apps.

To resize an app window, drag from either of the bottom corners. Or touch and hold Multitasking Menu, then select one of the window layouts. To open another app window, use the Dock. To move your open windows to the side—so you can access the Home Screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Find commands in the menu bar

On iPad, apps have a menu bar you can use to quickly take action. To view the menu bar, tap a window from the open app, then tap the app’s name in the status bar in the top-left corner. If you’re using a mouse or a trackpad, move the pointer over the app’s name instead.

Access your folders from the Dock

To more easily find and open folders you access frequently, you can add them to the Dock. In the Files app, touch and hold the folder you want to move. When a menu opens, choose Add To, then tap Dock.

For more ways to speed up your work on iPad, see these guides:

• Open an app on iPad
• Work with multiple windows at the same time on iPad
• Arrange windows with gestures
• Change the layout of windows on iPad
• Organize windows with Stage Manager on iPad

With Picture in Picture, you can watch a video or use FaceTime while you use other apps. The video window scales down to a corner of your screen, and you can resize it, move it to a different corner, hide it off the edge of the screen, or return to a full video screen.

Note: Picture in Picture works only with supported apps and videos, so if the option isn’t available, it’s possible the app or video doesn’t support it.

Start Picture in Picture

While watching a video, tap the Minimize Video button or press the Home button (on an iPad with a Home button).

Because the video window scales down to a corner of your screen, the Home Screen stays visible and you can open other apps.

Manage the Picture in Picture window

You can do any of the following while the video window is showing:

• Resize the video window: To make the small video window larger, pinch open. To shrink it again, pinch closed.
• Show and hide controls: Tap the video window.
• Move the video window: Drag it to a different corner of the screen.
• Hide the video window: Drag it off the left or right edge of the screen.
• Close the video window: Tap the Close button.
• Return to a full video screen: Tap the Restore Full Screen button in the small video window.

See also

• Use other apps during a FaceTime call

If your iPad (compatible models) is connected to an external display, you can work across both screens, moving apps and windows between the screens and arranging them in a way that works best for you. You can also open an app right on the display you want to use it on.

Note: Using an external display with iPad requires a compatible iPad model and a compatible cable or adapter. See Connect iPad to a display with a cable.

Do any of the following to move apps between displays:

• Drag the window: Use your cursor to drag from the top of the app window to move it from one display to another.
• Open on a specific display: Tap the app icon in the Dock or App Library on the display you want to use it on.
• Use window controls: Touch and hold the Multitasking menu, then tap Move to Display or Move to iPad.

See also

• Connect iPad to a display with a cable

If an app isn’t responding, you can quit it and then reopen it. You can quit it from Exposé, or if the app is in a window, close the window, then reopen it on the Home Screen, App Library, or in the Dock. If the app is still unresponsive after you quit and reopen it, restarting your iPad may help.

Note: Since iPad automatically manages how apps run in the background, quitting apps you’re not using doesn’t prolong battery life.

You can do one of the following to quit an app:

• To quit an app, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen and hold, then release to open Exposé, then swipe up on the app.
• If the app is in a window, tap the Window Controls button, then tap the Close Window button.

To reopen the app, tap it on the Home Screen, App Library, or in the Dock. If the app is still unresponsive after quitting and reopening, try restarting your iPad.

See also

• Open an app on iPad

While you’re working in multiple apps, you can arrange the windows to make them easier to see and work in. You can also tile two apps side by side. And you can designate one window as a Slide Over window, and it’ll stay open on top of your other windows, even full-screen ones.

Arrange windows with gestures

While working with windowed apps, you can drag and drop apps from the Dock, Home Screen, App Library, or Spotlight to easily arrange them among your windowed apps.

You can do any of the following with apps in windows:

• Open an app in a window: While working with other apps in windows, drag the app icon to the center of the screen. If it was previously full screen, it opens as a windowed app, and if it was previously resized, it opens in its previous size.
• Split the screen between two apps: Drag an app icon to the right or left on top of a full-screen app to quickly tile the two apps side-by-side.
• Replace a window on the left or right edge with another app: Drag an app icon from the Dock or Home Screen on top of a window that’s touching the right or left edge of the screen. The new app opens in that window, replacing its previous contents.
• Tile two windows side-by-side: When you already have two apps in windows and want to tile them side by side, drag one of the app windows from the top, hold it briefly, then swipe it quickly to one side of the screen. Drag the other window from the top, hold it briefly, then swipe it to the other side of the screen.
• Adjust the size of tiled windows: Drag the divider between two side-by-side windows to adjust their size at the same time.
• Make side-by-side windows full screen: When you have two app windows tiled side-by-side, drag the divider all the way to one edge to make one of the windows full screen, or drag the divider to the other edge to make the other window full screen.

Arrange windows with tiling

1. Tap one of the windows to bring it to the front.
2. Touch and hold the Window Controls button in the top-left corner to see a menu of layout options.
3. Choose one of the preset window layouts.

   

   The windows arrange themselves according to the layout you selected.

   Note: To see more layout options for the active app, tap Window in the menu bar, then tap Move & Resize.

Add a Slide Over window

While you work in Windowed Apps or Stage Manager, you can designate one window as a Slide Over window to stay open on top of your other windows or full-screen apps. This window stays on the right or left side of the screen. You can drag this window off screen, and bring it back out when you need it.

While you work this way, you can do any of the following:

• Move a window into Slide Over: Touch and hold the Window Controls button, then tap Enter Slide Over. Or, while working in apps, drag an app icon from the Dock, Home Screen, App Library, or Spotlight to the left or right edge on top of the arrow.

  

• Switch Slide Over windows: To switch which window is in Slide Over, touch and hold the Window Controls button of a different window and tap Enter Slide Over. This window enters Slide Over and the previous one leaves Slide Over. You can also drag the app you want from the Dock, Home Screen, App Library, or Spotlight over the existing Slide Over window to switch them.
• Hide the Slide Over window off screen temporarily: Drag the top of the window past the left or right edge of the screen. An arrow appears at the edge where the window disappeared.
• Bring the Slide Over window back: Tap the Arrow button or swipe from the edge of the screen where you moved the Slide Over window to bring it back into view.
• Reposition the Slide Over window: Drag the top of your Slide Over window to move it. The window snaps to the left or right side of the screen.
• Resize the Slide Over window: Drag a bottom corner of the Slide Over window to resize it.
• Exit Slide Over: Touch and hold the Window Controls button, then tap Exit Slide Over. Or move the window to the middle of the screen and pause. The window leaves Slide Over and the border around it disappears. It no longer always stays on top of the other windows.
• Change the Slide Over window: You can replace the contents of a Slide Over window with another app by dragging the app icon (from the Dock or Home Screen) on top of the Slide Over arrow (or the Slide Over window).

Open an item in the center of the screen

Many iPad apps, including Mail, Messages, and Notes, let you open an item in a window of its own in the center of the screen.

1. For example, do any of the following:
   • Touch and hold a message in a mailbox in Mail.
   • Touch and hold a conversation in Messages.
   • Touch and hold a note in Notes.
2. Tap Open in New Window.

   The item opens in the center of the screen, on top of what you’re viewing, without changing your view.

You can change a center window to full screen: Tap the Window Controls button, then tap the Full Screen button.

See also

• View and switch between apps with Exposé

You can open a new window in any app that supports multiple windows, like Mail, Notes, Safari, and Files. You can even open a window for just one item, like a note or a Mail message, and view all the open windows of a particular app with App Exposé.

Open a new window in an app

1. Touch and hold the app icon for an app that supports multiple windows (for example, Mail, Notes, Safari, Files, and others) until a menu appears.
2. Choose New Window from the menu.

   

Note: There’s another way to open a new window in an app: Drag the app icon from the Dock onto another window from the same app. Or drag content out of the app window or to the edges of iPad (a Note or a Mail message, for example), and a window opens for just that content.

View an app’s open windows

If you have multiple windows open in an app, App Exposé can show you all of them at once.

1. Do any of the following:
   • Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to reveal the Dock.
   • Go to the Home Screen.
2. On the Home Screen or in the Dock, touch and hold the app with the windows you want to view and tap Show All Windows or tap a specific window that’s listed under Open Windows.

   Note: If you touch and hold an app on the Home Screen for too long, all the apps begin to jiggle. Tap Done at the top right, then try again.

   

   Tip: Here’s another way to view an app’s open windows: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pause in the middle to open Exposé, then tap one of the app icons to open App Exposé for that app.

For more ways to move between apps, see our guide, Switch between apps on iPad.

View hidden windows for an app

When you switch to an app with hidden windows—that are either minimized, full-screen, or behind another app—a pill-shaped button appears that you can tap to view all the open windows of the app.

See also

• Work with multiple windows at the same time on iPad
• Change the layout of windows on iPad

You can use Stage Manager to multitask and get things done with ease. You can group apps for specific tasks or projects, and also arrange windows, resize them, and overlap them.

When you turn it on, the apps you’re working in move to the front, and all your other open apps form a list of recent apps on the left. When you switch apps, whatever you’ve been working in moves to the recent apps list.

Turn Stage Manager on or off

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Multitasking & Gestures and select Stage Manager.

   

Turning on Stage Manager moves the apps you’re working in to the front, while all other open apps line up along the left side of the screen as a list of recent apps.

Switch between apps in Stage Manager

With Stage Manager, you can switch apps by tapping another app in the recent apps list, or tapping an icon in the Dock.

Switching to another app sends the app or group you’ve been working in to the recent apps list on the left, and the one you tapped takes its place.

Doing any of the following also switches apps:

• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, then pause in the center of the screen to see the recent apps and groups.
• Swipe left or right with one finger along the bottom edge of the screen. (On an iPad with a Home button, perform this gesture with a slight arc.)
• Swipe left or right with four or five fingers.

For more, see our article, Switch between apps on iPad.

Organize apps into groups in Stage Manager

You can create groups of windows for specific tasks or projects by dragging app windows from the recent apps list into the center of the screen. You can also drag app icons from the Dock into the center of the screen to add them to a group.

You can return a window to the recent apps list by dragging it to the left. If you minimize a window in an app group, the app window is removed from the group and returned to the recent apps list.

Show or hide the recent apps list

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Multitasking & Gestures. Select or deselect the checkbox for Stage Manager.

Quick tip: Moving a window too close to the list of recent apps can hide the list, but swiping from the left edge of the screen makes it reappear.

See also

• Work with multiple windows at the same time on iPad
• Open multiple windows of an app on iPad
• Change the layout of windows on iPad

You can use the Dock, Exposé, or a gesture to quickly switch from one app or window to a different one. When you switch back, you can pick up right where you left off.

The Dock keeps your favorite apps on the left and suggested apps on the right, including ones you opened recently and ones open on your nearby iPhone or Mac. Exposé shows all your open apps and windows at once, so you can move between them.

Here’s how to switch between apps on iPad.

Open an app from the Dock

Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen just far enough to reveal the Dock, then tap the app you want to open.

The left side of the Dock holds your favorite apps, and suggested apps appear to the right, like apps you recently opened on iPad or have open on your nearby iPhone or Mac. App Library opens from the rightmost icon in the Dock.

To open folders quickly, you can also move them from the Files app to the Dock. To learn how, read our article, Modify files and folders in Files.

View and switch between apps with Exposé

With Exposé, you see all your open apps and windows and can switch between them.

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pause in the center of the screen and then lift your finger.

   

2. To browse the open apps, swipe right or left.

   If you’re working with multiple windows on the same screen, those windows appear on the right. Other open apps appear on the left.

3. Tap an app window to open it.

See also

• Open an app on iPad

You can access an app’s features and commands in the menu bar for the active app on iPad.

The menu bar only appears when Windowed Apps or Stage Manager is turned on, so if you don’t see one at the top of your screen, you can set up iPad to work in multiple windows. With a mouse or a trackpad, the menu bar opens when you move the pointer over the app’s name. You can also open multiple windows of an app on iPad.

Open the menu bar for the current app

1. If you’re using apps as windows, tap the app with the menu bar you want to access.
2. Tap the app’s name in the status bar in the top-left corner. If you’re using a mouse or a trackpad, move the pointer over the app’s name instead.

   

See also

• Open multiple windows of an app on iPad