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Organize windows with Stage Manager on iPad

You can use Stage Manager to multitask and get things done with ease. You can group apps for specific tasks or projects, and also arrange windows, resize them and overlap them.

Turn Stage Manager on or off

  1. Go to the Settings app  on your iPad.

  2. Tap Multitasking & Gestures, then select Stage Manager.

    The iPad Settings app, showing the Multitasking & Gestures options you can choose for working in multiple apps.

When you turn on Stage Manager, the apps you’re working in move to the front and all other open apps form a list of recent apps along the left side of the screen.

An iPad display with Stage Manager turned on. The current window is in the front, and other recent apps are in a list on the left side of the screen.

Switch between apps in Stage Manager

With Stage Manager, you can switch apps by tapping another app in the recent apps list, or tapping an icon in the Dock.

When you switch to another app, the app or group you’ve been working in moves to the recent apps list on the left and is replaced by the one you tapped.

You can also do any of the following to switch apps:

  • Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, then pause in the center of the screen to see the recent apps and groups.

  • Swipe left or right with one finger along the bottom edge of the screen. (On an iPad with a Home button, perform this gesture with a slight arc.)

  • Swipe left or right with four or five fingers.

See Switch between apps on iPad.

Organize apps into groups in Stage Manager

You can create groups of windows for specific tasks or projects by dragging app windows from the recent apps list into the center of the screen. You can also drag app icons from the Dock into the center of the screen to add them to a group.

You can return a window to the recent apps list by dragging it to the left. If you minimize a window in an app group, the app window is removed from the group and returned to the recent apps list.

Hide or show the recent apps list

  1. Go to the Settings app  on your iPad.

  2. Tap Multitasking & Gestures, then select or deselect the checkbox for Stage Manager.

Tip: If the list of recent apps becomes hidden when you move a window too close to it, you can make it reappear by swiping from the left edge of the screen.

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