Split View/Slide Over/Stage Manager reference, Apple Pencil gestures and Magic Keyboard shortcuts, and tips for treating the iPad like a real workstation.
| Feature | Action | How | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split View | Open two apps side by side | Drag app from Dock to screen edge | Drag the center divider to resize the split. |
| Slide Over | Float an app over another | Drag app to bottom edge, release | Swipe the floating card's handle down to park it off-screen, swipe up from the bottom edge to recall it. |
| Stage Manager | Enable resizable overlapping windows | Control Center → Stage Manager | Available on M1-and-later iPads; adds a Mac-like window shelf on the left. |
| Stage Manager | Group apps in one window set | Drag a second app onto an open window | Groups are remembered and reopen together next time. |
| App Switching | Open App Switcher | Swipe up and pause, or ⌘-Tab with a keyboard | Same gesture family as iPhone, plus a keyboard shortcut when a Magic Keyboard is attached. |
| Trackpad/Mouse | Cursor becomes context-aware | Move pointer over a UI element | The round cursor morphs to highlight buttons/text the way a Mac pointer does — a deliberate difference from a plain mouse cursor. |
| Drag & Drop | Move content between apps | Long-press item, drag across split | Works across almost all first-party and well-behaved third-party apps — images, text, files, even multiple items picked up sequentially. |
| External Display | Extend to an external monitor | Connect via USB-C/Thunderbolt | M1-and-later iPads support true extended-desktop Stage Manager on the external screen, not just mirroring. |
Apple Pencil Gestures
Double-tap (Pencil 2/Pro)
Switches between the current tool and the eraser (or last-used tool) in supporting apps — configurable in Settings → Apple Pencil.
Squeeze (Pencil Pro)
Opens a quick tool palette without lifting the pencil from the surface.
Barrel roll (Pencil Pro)
Rotates the pencil in your hand to change a brush's angle — shading tools respond to it like a real pencil.
Hover
On supported iPads/Pencils, the cursor previews above the surface before touching down — useful for precise placement before committing a mark.
Keyboard Shortcuts (with Magic Keyboard)
System
Windows
Capture
Text
Learn the Files app hierarchy
Connect to iCloud Drive, a USB drive, or a network SMB share directly from the Files app sidebar — most "iPad can't do real file management" complaints predate this being solid.
Set default browser/mail app
Settings → [App Name] → Default Browser/Mail App lets Safari/Mail links open in Chrome, Edge, or Gmail instead — often missed since it's buried per-app, not in one central list.
Resize Stage Manager windows precisely
Drag from the bottom-right corner of a Stage Manager window for free resizing — corners are the only resize handles, unlike a traditional desktop OS.