Mac guide
How to split your Mac screen into three or four windows
By Aqib Javed · Updated Oct 22, 2026
On macOS Sequoia 15 or later, hover over a window's green button and pick an arrangement, or drag windows to the screen's edges and corners to tile them in halves and quarters. macOS has no equal thirds or columns of four, and Split View holds only two apps. For three or four columns, or a grid where dragging the line between windows resizes the neighbours too, you need a window app such as DisplayShift.
What macOS can do on its own (Sequoia 15 and later)
- Drag a window to the left or right edge for a half, or to a corner for a quarter.
- Hover over the green button at the top left of a window to pick Move & Resize or Fill & Arrange layouts for the windows on screen.
- Window > Move & Resize in the menu bar has the same options, and each lists its keyboard shortcut.
- Split View (green button > Full Screen Tile) puts two apps side by side in their own full screen space.
Where it stops
- Halves and quarters only: no equal thirds, no four columns.
- Split View is two apps, never three.
- Tiling arrived in macOS Sequoia 15. On macOS 14 Sonoma there is no tiling at all.
- Tiled windows don't share their edges: resizing one leaves a gap or an overlap next to it.
Three or four windows with DisplayShift
- Press Control Option Command T (the default shortcut), or open the panel and click the tile button.
- Pick a shape: two to six apps side by side, in thirds, quarters, a grid or a layout you draw yourself.
- Choose the screen to tile, and the app for each space.
- Click Tile. The windows move into place on that screen.
- Drag the bar between two tiled windows: every window touching it resizes together, so there are never gaps.
Settings > Tiling sets the space between windows and whether the bars show. DisplayShift runs on macOS 14 Sonoma and later, so tiling works on Sonoma too.
Which to use
For two windows on Sequoia, the built-in tiling is enough. For thirds, four apps, grids, or a Mac on Sonoma, a tiling app does it in one step.
Questions
Can a Mac split the screen into 3 windows without an app?
- Only as a half and two quarters, on macOS Sequoia 15 or later. Equal thirds need an app.
Can Split View hold more than two apps?
- No. Split View is always two apps sharing one full screen space.
What is the shortcut to tile windows on a Mac?
- On Sequoia, Window > Move & Resize lists the built-in shortcuts. In DisplayShift, Control Option Command T opens the tiling picker by default.
Does window tiling work on macOS Sonoma?
- Not built in: tiling arrived in Sequoia 15. DisplayShift's tiling works on Sonoma 14 and later.