GoodNotes + Safari Split View on iPad: The Full Guide

To use GoodNotes and Safari in Split View on iPad, swipe up to open the Dock, long-press the GoodNotes icon, drag it to the left or right edge of the screen until a split appears, then drop it — Safari stays open on the other side.

Once you know how to trigger it, this combination earns its screen space fast. You have a live browser on one side and your actual notebook on the other, which removes the constant app-switching that breaks concentration. Here is why this specific pair works so well together:

• Research and note-taking at the same time. You are reading a long article, a Wikipedia entry, or a documentation page in Safari. Instead of memorizing key points before flipping to your notes, you write directly into GoodNotes while the source stays visible. No back-and-forth, no forgotten details.
• Annotating alongside references. Students writing essay outlines or professionals preparing meeting notes can keep the brief, the slide deck, or the reference document open in Safari while sketching a mind map or filling in a template in GoodNotes with the Apple Pencil.
• Copying web content into handwritten notebooks. You can drag selected text from Safari and drop it straight into a GoodNotes page as a text box, then annotate around it — useful for building visual study guides or project briefs.

The real friction is that Split View does not remember your combinations. Every time you want GoodNotes and Safari side by side, you repeat the same drag-and-drop routine. That adds up.

How to set it up with Splicon

If you have not already, Download Splicon free from the App Store — it turns any Split View pair into a single tappable Home Screen icon.

1. Open Splicon and search for GoodNotes and Safari. Use the search field to find each app and select them as your pair. Splicon pulls the real app icons so you can preview exactly what the shortcut will look like.
2. Choose a split style and generate the icon. Pick the layout that matches how you want the apps arranged — GoodNotes on the left or Safari on the left — then generate the combined icon and save it to your Photos library.
3. Open the Shortcuts app and build the action. Create a new shortcut, add an "Open App" action, set it to open GoodNotes and Safari together in Split View, then tap the shortcut icon placeholder and choose the image you saved from Splicon.
4. Add the shortcut to your Home Screen. Tap the share button inside the shortcut editor and select "Add to Home Screen." Place it wherever you want on your iPad's Home Screen or in the Dock.

From that point on, one tap opens both apps side by side in the orientation you chose. There is no dragging, no Dock hunting, no wasted time.

This setup pays off most if you have a regular study or work routine that depends on pulling information from the web and capturing it in a notebook. The pair is particularly strong on larger iPad models — the iPad Pro and iPad Air — where Split View gives each app enough horizontal room to be genuinely usable rather than cramped.

If you switch between several Split View combinations throughout the day, Splicon lets you build a whole row of them on your Home Screen. Each icon is visually distinct, so you can recognize the pair at a glance instead of reading a label.