Making Use of Split Screen in MSWord
There are several ways to navigate a document in MSWord. When you have a large document, the Split Screen option can make navigating faster and easier. No one likes to spend time scrolling backwards and forwards! If you split the screen, you can see two different sections of your document on the screen simultaneously. Use this feature to see your introductory paragraph and compare it to your concluding paragraph. Another reason to use a split screen in Word would be to quickly cut/copy/paste between different sections in your document.
There are a couple of ways to activate the split screen.
Using the Ribbon
The split screen button is found on the View tab. Click View, then click Split. This will activate the horizontal split screen bar.
Move your cursor up or down to move the split screen bar until it appears in the desired location – then click to place the bar. Your screen will be split and you can navigate the two sections independently of each other. You will see 2 separate scroll bars on the right side of your screen.
Notice how the top and bottom screens scroll individually, and each pane has its own ruler and scroll bars.
Removing the Split Screen in Word using the Ribbon
To remove the split screen, simply click on the Remove Split button found on the View tab.
Alternative Method to Activate the Split Screen
You may already know about the Split Screen button on the View tab; it’s pretty easy to discover by looking at the options on the Ribbon. The following option is less known and allows you to activate the Split Screen without using the Ribbon.
On the right side of your Word screen, look for a small, horizontal, black bar at the top (or bottom) of the vertical scroll bar – it looks kind of like a minus sign. When you point at it (with your mouse), the pointer will turn into a double-sided arrow.
Click, and drag down to split the screen.
To remove the split screen
Use your mouse to point at the horizontal split screen bar, then either click and drag the bar all the way up or double-click the split bar to remove the split screen and return the document to a single screen.
Compare Two Different Documents Using a Split Screen
If you would like to compare two different documents – or view them side-by-side – use the View Side by Side button on the View tab.
Both files should be open before selecting this option.
Go to the View tab, then select the View Side by Side button. You can remove this view by clicking the same button again; your view will return to a one-document view.
The Synchronous Scrolling option can be turned on or off. With this feature activated, both documents will scroll simultaneously. Meaning, as you scroll up or down in one document, the other document will also scroll in the same manner.
Happy Learning!
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