First look video: Split View, new Mission Control in Apple's OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Posted:
in macOS edited October 2015
Apple's next-generation Mac operating system, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, is now available as a free download, and compatible with all Macs that run OS X Yosemite. AppleInsider offers a quick rundown of a couple of the things you can do with your newly updated Mac.





Two of the most significant changes found in El Capitan are a revamped Mission Control, and a new full-screen Split View, both of which are demonstrated in the video above.

Split View is an enhancement to the familiar red, yellow and green OS X "traffic light" window control buttons. Users can click-and-hold on the green resizing button to trigger Split View mode in compatible app windows.

Users can opt to place a larger half-screen window to the left or right side of the display, with the area to be occupied shaded in blue.

El Capitan displays the maximized app alongside an Expos? view of all apps open on the desktop. Clicking on another app maximizes it to share the screen with the first. Windows can be resized via cursor control and minimized by clicking on the green traffic light button or hitting escape.

Among other operations, Split View is a perfect companion to the new Notes app, which lets users drag-and-drop rich data assets from other apps like Safari Web links, photos and more.

Apple also tweaked Mission Control with a few key features that make multi-window desktop management a bit more digestible. Swiping up with four fingers invokes the usual Mission Control panel, which now arranges open app windows relative to their positioning on the desktop. For example, when Safari and iTunes are positioned to the left and right of the desktop, they will be presented in the same respective locations in Mission Control.

Apple says the El Capitan capability makes it easier to spot apps you're looking for, even when they're stacked one atop the other.

In addition, single app windows can be transported to another desktop space by clicking and dragging them beyond the top of the screen, which activates Mission Control. Alternatively, apps can be maximized from the Mission Control interface into their own full-screen space.

In addition, single app windows can be transported to another desktop space by clicking and dragging them beyond the top of the screen, which activates Mission Control. Alternatively, apps can be maximized from the Mission Control interface into their own full-screen space.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13



    Would it have hurt to slow down just a bit on the pointing/clicking? :-)

  • Reply 2 of 13

    Apple shows off such small features. Not something to be so proud of. Oh, this is magical.

    This functionality was for years in Windows! Years!

  • Reply 3 of 13
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Urahara View Post

     

    Apple shows off such small features. Not something to be so proud of. Oh, this is magical.

    This functionality was for years in Windows! Years!




    Thanks for that, really useful considering I got off that piece of shit operating system called Windows years ago and of course I come to AppleInsider to get information on what I've been missing.

  • Reply 4 of 13
    A jumbled nightmare. I'll use Mission Control as I do now: not at all. And I bet I'm in the majority.

    Note that Apple still doesn't deliver bullet-proof encryption for Mail.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    nicmart wrote: »
    A jumbled nightmare. I'll use Mission Control as I do now: not at all. And I bet I'm in the majority.

    Note that Apple still doesn't deliver bullet-proof encryption for Mail.

    End to End encryption is a product of your mail servers on both ends, not the mail client.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    I cannot get split view to work on my system (Late 2014 27" iMac, El Capitan 10.11.1 beta, but id didn't work with the 10.11 golden master either). Pressing and holding the green button doesn't do it, nor does any of the other documented methods.

    I've not read any reports of anyone else having this problem, so I wonder what is different about my system.
  • Reply 7 of 13



    I found the answer in Apple's Support Community:  "

    Make sure that you have the setting Displays have separate spaces ticked in the Mission Control System Prefs, otherwise it won't work."

  • Reply 8 of 13
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    urahara wrote: »
    Apple shows off such small features. Not something to be so proud of. Oh, this is magical.
    This functionality was for years in Windows! Years!

    Actually, the Gnome Desktop environment also does everything in the video down to the T. Including grouping apps into different virtual desktops, even the animations. Still, nice to see it in OSX, will come in handy for my Macbook with it's small display. Not so much on my 30" 4k monitor, I don't even bother using multiple desktops. I'm sure those who use an iMac 5k won't be using these featured much either.
  • Reply 9 of 13

    There are plenty of articles online about use use of encryption with mail clients.

  • Reply 10 of 13
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Urahara View Post

     

    Apple shows off such small features. Not something to be so proud of. Oh, this is magical.

    This functionality was for years in Windows! Years!




    But now these "small features" aren't only on the world's shittiest operating system. 

     

    That's the kicker. 

  • Reply 11 of 13
    ianridianrid Posts: 13member

    Rather agree with nicmart. For years now each new version of the OS has proudly announced new features I don't want and enhancements to others I don't use. Yet others I do want, such as windowshading, have gone, seemingly never to reappear without a third-party add-on.

  • Reply 12 of 13

    You don't want to start an argument about stealing features you can't win.

  • Reply 13 of 13

    Unless to me. Two windows?  Why only two?  How about a way to click on a window, 2 or 3 or 4 and then line them up w/o all of the dropping and dragging.

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