How to Split Screen with GoodNotes on iPad

To split screen with GoodNotes on iPad, open GoodNotes, swipe up briefly from the bottom edge to reveal the Dock, then drag a second app's icon from the Dock to the left or right edge of the screen until a divider appears. GoodNotes and the second app then run side by side in Split View.

Method 1 — the built-in way (no extra app needed)

1. Open GoodNotes as you normally would.
2. Swipe up a short distance from the bottom edge of the screen to reveal the Dock without leaving GoodNotes.
3. Find the second app in the Dock. If it isn't there, open it once first so iPadOS remembers it, or add it to the Dock from the Home Screen.
4. Touch and hold the second app's icon, then drag it to the left or right edge of the screen and let go when a vertical divider appears.
5. Drag the center divider to adjust how much space each app gets — GoodNotes usually works best with 60% or more of the screen.

If it's not splitting

If dragging from the Dock doesn't split the screen, the most common cause is dropping the second app too close to the middle instead of the very edge — that opens Slide Over instead of Split View. If you're using Stage Manager, the gesture is different: open GoodNotes, then drag the second app's window next to the GoodNotes window rather than pulling from the Dock. On some iPad models, GoodNotes needs to be fully closed and reopened once after an iPadOS update before Split View starts cooperating again.

Tips once you're set up

• Give GoodNotes the wider pane (60:40 or 70:30) when you're taking notes from something you're reading — you'll be scanning it more than scrolling.
• GoodNotes reopens to your last-used notebook, so a one-tap shortcut lands you exactly where you left off.
• If you take notes from recorded lectures, GoodNotes' own audio recording keeps running in the background pane while split.