Switch an app window to a Slide Over window on iPad
While you’re using an app, you can switch it to a Slide Over window—a smaller window that slides in front of another app or window—and open another app behind it. For example, while you’re using the Photos app, you can have Mail open in a Slide Over window and create an email message while viewing photos.
You can have multiple apps open in Slide Over. iPad keeps track of the apps you open in Slide Over so that you can switch between them easily.
![A Photos app fills the screen. Messages is open in a Slide Over window on the right side of the screen.](https://help.apple.com/assets/6758C0F05C38883A170CE6F4/6758C0F55C38883A170CE700/en_US/5eb774e4e708e95896871aae17ef85a1.png)
Open an app in Slide Over
While using an app, tap
at the top of the screen, then tap
.
The app you’re using moves to the side to reveal your Home Screen and Dock.
Find and open the app you want to appear behind the Slide Over window.
The second app opens, and the first app appears in a Slide Over window in front of it.
To open a third app in Slide Over when the screen is in Split View (on supported models), swipe up from the bottom edge just far enough to reveal the Dock, then drag the third app from the Dock to the Split View divider. (See Open two apps in Split View on iPad.)
![The Translate app is open on the left side of the screen, Notes is open on the right, and Clock is open in a Slide Over window that partially covers Notes.](https://help.apple.com/assets/6758C0F05C38883A170CE6F4/6758C0F55C38883A170CE700/en_US/750bc24c552af3b6b5913f2619eb3903.png)
Switch between apps in Slide Over
Swipe right along the bottom of the Slide Over window, or do the following:
Swipe halfway up the screen from the bottom of the Slide Over window, pause, then lift your finger.
All the Slide Over windows appear.
Tap the app you want to view, if it’s visible.
If you don’t see it, swipe left and right through the apps.
![Four apps open in Slide Over windows, including Mail, Photos, Translate, and Notes.](https://help.apple.com/assets/6758C0F05C38883A170CE6F4/6758C0F55C38883A170CE700/en_US/8bd6ae3f79797fd563c18da8cc17e293.png)
You can also use the App Switcher to switch between apps in Slide Over. See Use the App Switcher.
Move the Slide Over window
Do one of the following:
Move the Slide Over window to the other side of the screen: Drag from
at the top of the Slide Over window.
Temporarily hide the Slide Over window: Swipe all the way up from the bottom of the Slide Over window, swipe
, or drag either side of the window to the left edge of the screen. The Slide Over window disappears and a tab appears to indicate the Slide Over window is still available.
Move the Slide Over window back onto the screen: Drag the tab indicating the Slide Over window from the left edge of the screen.
Turn Slide Over into Split View
Tap at the top of the Slide Over window, tap
, then tap
to have the current app appear on the left side of the screen, or
to place the current app on the right.
Tap
at the top of the Slide Over window, tap
, then tap
to have the current app appear on the left side of the screen, or
to place the current app on the right.
On supported models, you can use Slide Over and Split View simultaneously. See Open two items in Split View.
Open an item in the center of the screen
In many iPad apps—including Mail, Messages, Notes, and Files—you can open an item in the center of the app window.
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.
Tap Open in New Window.
The item opens in the center of the screen, on top of what you’re viewing, without otherwise changing your view.
Tip: You can also pinch open any of the items listed in step 1 above to open them in a new window in the center of the screen.
You can change a center window to full screen by tapping , make it a Split View window by tapping
, or change it to a Slide Over window by tapping
.