How to Run Windows 8 Native Apps Side by Side

How to Run Windows 8 Native Apps Side by Side



Windows 8 native apps run only full-screen, all by their lonesome, right?
Not if you use this hack.
Windows 8 native apps are designed to take up your computer’s full screen all by
themselves—they’re what Microsoft calls immersive applications. Unlike Desktop
apps, you can’t resize them so you can see multiple apps on your screen.

Well, not quite. There is a way to run Windows 8 native apps side by side on your screen,
as you’ll see in this hack, using a feature that Microsoft calls Snap.

First, make sure you’re running two or more Windows 8 native apps. What you do next
depends on whether you’re using a tablet (or other touchscreen device), or a PC or
laptop. If you’re using a PC or laptop, move your mouse cursor to the top-left corner
of the screen, then move it down, and you’ll see all of your currently running apps
(Figure 1). Drag and drop an app’s thumbnail onto the screen (Figure 2).


Tip: When you drag and drop the thumbnail, don’t drag it too far to the right. If you
do, the app you just dragged will take up the full screen by itself.

When you do that, the second app runs in a sidebar along the lefthand side of the
screen. You can interact with one app at a time by clicking it (Figure 3).



Figure 1.
The first step in running two Windows 8 native apps side by side: showing all your currently running
apps

Figure 2.
Drag and drop the app you want to run side by side with the currently running app

Figure 3.
Two Windows 8 native apps running side by side

If you look closely, you’ll see that there’s a border on the right side of the app running
in the sidebar, with three dots on it. Use that to resize the app in the sidebar by making
it take up more or less of the screen—drag it to the right or the left.


If you’re using a tablet or other touchscreen device, to display your current running
apps, swipe slowly from the left and then pull back your finger. That gesture displays
the apps. Now drag and drop the app you want to run side by side with the currently
running app. Control the size by dragging the border of the app running in the sidebar,
just as you would with a mouse.


Note: Running apps side by side makes use of Windows 8’s semantic zoom capabilities.
Instead of zooming out to levels where you can no longer distinguish individual
characters, Windows 8 uses semantic zoom to display the data as clearly
as possible.