Splitting the Window

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 29, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to create split windows, each of which allows you to look at a different portion of your document. You can also use the split windows to view your document in different views. To split the window, display the View tab of the ribbon and then, in the Window group, click the Split tool.

When you split the window, Word places a horizontal split bar on the screen. This split bar can be easily positioned by moving it with the mouse. When you click on the mouse button, the bar is placed exactly where you clicked.

You can return to a single window by clicking on and holding the horizontal split bar and swiping it to the top or the bottom of the screen.

If you are like a lot of Word users, you might prefer to not take your hands off the keyboard. The keyboard shortcut for toggling the split screen on or off is Ctrl+Alt+S.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7550) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Editing a Hyperlink

Excel will cheerfully keep track of all sorts of hyperlinks for you. If you want to change the hyperlink in some way, ...

Discover More

Temporarily Changing the Printer in a Macro

You can use a macro to print to any printer you have defined in Windows. It is good practice, if you are changing which ...

Discover More

Word Find and Replace (Special Offer)

Word Find and Replace can help super-charge your document editing tasks. Another way you can increase your ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Transposing Two Paragraphs

Need to swap two adjacent paragraphs? Your editing arsenal can include a command to do this if you use the macro in this tip.

Discover More

Stepping through Sentences

Need to select an entire sentence at once? You can do so by creating a short macro that does the task for you, or you can ...

Discover More

Font Changes when Pasting to Another Document

When you copy information from one document and paste it into another, you may not always get what you expect. If the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 5 - 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.