Firefox split view: how it works and alternatives for browsing with two pages at once

When you spend the day glued to your browser, constantly switching tabs Comparing data, following social media, or working with multiple tools simultaneously can be a real hassle. That's why split-screen and split-view features in modern browsers have become so popular: they allow you to have several pages visible at the same time without having to open a string of windows floating around your desktop.

Firefox has gradually joined this trend with several approaches: from experiments such as Side View and third-party plugins...up to the new Split Tabs feature coming to the browser. Let's take a detailed look at what Firefox offers for working in split view, how it compares to Chrome and Edge, and what alternatives you have if you want to go even further.

What is split view in Firefox and why is it important?

The so-called split view, split screen, or split tabs in a browser is simply the ability to display two (or more) web pages side by side within the same window, allowing you to interact with each one independently. It's similar to how you can split two applications across two halves of the screen in your operating system, but applied directly within the browser itself.

In the case of Firefox, Mozilla has worked on this idea in several phases. On the one hand, there have been experiments such as Side View within the Test Pilot programwhich allowed loading a page in a sidebar. Then there are the classic add-ons that divide the window into multiple panels. And, more recently, the Firefox development team is integrating a native Split Tabs or split view function which allows you to open two tabs in parallel without resorting to extensions.

The goal is clear: to make multitasking easier. With split view in Firefox you can, for example, Watch a video on a panel while taking notes in one online document, in the other, compare two stores when searching for a product, review technical documentation while programming, or monitor a social media panel while working on another website.

This function has become so relevant that all the major browsers They're jumping on the bandwagon: Edge has been developing it for quite some time, Chrome is testing it in its development versions (like Chrome Canary), and Firefox is accelerating to avoid falling behind and offer a competitive experience.

The new Split Tabs feature in Firefox

Mozilla is working on a feature that will allow Open two tabs side by side in the same windowThis feature, which has been available in Edge for some time and is also starting to appear in Chrome, is known internally as Split Tabs or split view. It comes in response to user demand for working with multiple pages without cluttering the desktop with windows.

At the development level, the Firefox split-view project has been organized into several specific tasks, with teams focused on interface design, interaction and accessibilityAlthough there is still no official release date for the stable version, its presence on the developers' roadmap indicates that it will arrive in future versions of the browser. Most likely, it will first be tested in channels like Firefox Nightly and then made available to the stable version once the details have been polished.

At a more advanced stage, this function has begun to emerge in the Firefox beta version 149In this context, it's now possible to activate a split-screen mode that allows you to select two open tabs and view them simultaneously in the same window. This implementation is designed to minimize the number of clicks required and allow users to easily switch between tabs in and out of this view.

In parallel, Mozilla continues to add improvements to other productivity-related areas, such as its Integrated sidebar with AI tools (Copilot Chat, Gemini, ChatGPT, etc.), and various corrections, especially in Windows environments where the browser has been receiving optimizations to better integrate with the system.

How native split view works in Firefox

In versions where it is available, Firefox's split-screen mode is based on a very simple system: split the current window into two sections and assign a tab to each part. There's nothing complicated to learn: everything is controlled from the tabs' context menu.

To use it, the first step is to open both pages you want to compare or use side-by-side, each in its own tab. Then, you just have to right-click on the tab that you want to keep visible and look for the "Add split view" option or similar in the context menu that appears.

By choosing that option, Firefox splits the window into two panels, and on the other side, it shows you the list of tabs you have open. From there you can easily select the second tab that you want to incorporate into the split view. One of the interesting details is that you can move between the other open tabs without them necessarily having to be part of the split view, which provides considerable flexibility.

If you ever want to remove a tab from the split screen, the procedure is the same: right-click on the tab in the split panel and choose the "Detach Split Tab" option or the corresponding command. That view will then be detached, and the tab will return to a conventional layout, occupying the entire window.

In addition, Firefox includes a visual indicator in the address bar which allows you to quickly identify when split view is active, along with specific controls in the context menu to close, detach, or adjust the behavior of tabs in this mode.

Adjustment and accessibility options in Firefox split view

One of the Mozilla team's priorities with this feature is that, even though it's a relatively new mode, it should be comfortable and accessible. That's why split-screen panels are fully resizableYou can drag the middle divider to give more space to a website and reduce the other panel if you just need to take a quick look.

The split view has also been designed with that in mind. users who rely on assistive technologiesMozilla is integrating dedicated keyboard shortcuts to activate, switch focus between panels or exit this mode, as well as compatibility with screen readers that allow you to correctly announce which tab is active and which panel you are in.

Another detail that has been taken into account is the ease of moving tabs. In the planned implementation, this will be possible. drag a tab from one panel to the other or move both at the same time, which makes it easier to reorganize your workspace if you change context or task mid-session.

All these elements are being developed in a fairly structured way, with separate tasks for the visual aspect, interaction logic, and accessibility issues, with the idea that the split view in Firefox is not simply "two websites stuck together," but a productive tool well integrated with the browser.

Comparison: Split screen in Firefox, Edge, and Chrome

Split-screen mode isn't exclusive to Firefox. In fact, Microsoft Edge was the first to make a strong commitment to this feature And Google Chrome is gradually incorporating it into its development versions (like Chrome Canary). Each has addressed it in its own way, with clear strengths and limitations.

In Edge, the split-screen feature has been available in the stable version for quite some time. To activate it, you need to Access the main menu and select the "Split screen" option.It's a slightly less direct path than in Firefox or Chrome, where everything is done by right-clicking on the tab, but in return, Microsoft's implementation is the most complete in terms of options.

When you enable split-screen in Edge, the browser shows you open tabs with preview thumbnails of each websitenot just the title. This makes it much easier to decide which page you want to add to the second panel, especially if you often work with many similar tabs. Furthermore, you can add not only active tabs, but also those you visit most frequently.

Edge adds, at the top of the split view, a menu with advanced functions which is accessed via a three-dot button. From there you can change the orientation of the panels (horizontal or vertical), swap tabs between sides, send one of the pages to a new, separate window, or have links open automatically in the secondary panel. There's also an X-shaped button to close the split view directly.

In Chrome, the approach is closer to what Firefox proposes: you do Right-click on a tab and choose “Add tab to new split view”The browser then displays, in the secondary panel, a list of your open tabs so you can choose which one to place next to the current one. If there are no other tabs, Chrome will directly open the homepage or the default page.

At this point, Chrome's implementation is functional but more basic: the tabs in the secondary panel are displayed only with their title and favicon, without thumbnails, and the menu of additional options is more limited than in Edge. Even so, it allows for the essentials: change the order of the panels or close each view independently to return to normal navigation.

If we compare the three proposals, most analyses agree that, at least for the moment, Edge offers the best split-screen experience Thanks to its combination of previews, flexible orientation, and extra tools menu, Firefox is still refining its native mode and has room for improvement, while Chrome is gradually progressing through its testing channels.

Side View: Firefox's experiment for two pages in the same tab

Before arriving at the native Split Tabs mode, Mozilla had already experimented with the idea of ​​displaying two websites in a single tab through an experiment called Side ViewThis project was part of the Test Pilot program, an initiative that allowed users to test experimental features by installing them as official extensions.

Side View consisted of adding a sidebar within the same tab where a second page could be loaded. The main area of ​​the window continued to display the main website, while another page opened on the right or left side to keep it readily available, which is very useful for quick references, videos, or other tasks while working on something else.

To use Side View, you first had to go through Test Pilot: you accessed the program's website, signed up, and installed an initial extension that granted access to the other experiments. From there, you located Side View, clicked "Start," and then "Activate Side View." The experiment installed itself as a normal extension with its own icon in the toolbar.

Once activated, Side View opened a panel on the side where you could load other pages. You had several ways to do this: from the extension's button, which displayed With all tabs open, choose which one to send to the sidebar.or by right-clicking on a link and selecting the option to open it in the sidebar, instead of in a new tab.

By default, websites loaded in that sidebar were displayed in “mobile” or responsive viewThe space was narrow but tall, which greatly improved readability and avoided the need for constant zooming. If you preferred to view the desktop version, you could force it using the Side View button, and you could also drag the panel's border to make it wider or narrower as needed.

Side View wasn't Firefox's only experiment during those years: Test Pilot also housed projects like Color (to create and customize Firefox themes by changing colors and appearance with just a few clicks), a notes application integrated into the browser, and the Send for feature. send encrypted filesSome of those experiments eventually disappeared, while others were later integrated into the browser or offered as standalone extensions.

Other add-ons for splitting the screen in Firefox

Beyond native features and official experiments, Firefox has always had Powerful plugins for splitting the window in multiple panels. One of the classic ones allowed you to create anything from a simple split in two to a grid with dozens of sites visible at once, limited practically only by the screen size and available RAM.

The usual way these types of extensions work is that, once installed, they add a new menu called something like “Split” within the Firefox menu bar. From there you could control the different layouts: split into two, three or more columns, create additional rows, close panels, rearrange the layout, etc.

In addition to the main menu, these tools used to integrate options in the context menu This appears when you right-click on a tab or a link. For example, you could open a link directly in a new panel on the right, or send the current tab to one of the quadrants of a complex split without having to drag anything manually.

One of the most striking tricks of these extensions was the possibility of drag a tab towards the edges of the windowIf you dragged the tab to one of the four center points on the sides, a small rectangle with an arrow appeared, indicating that releasing it would create a new partition on that side of the window with the corresponding page. You could also split a single tab into multiple partitions with blank pages and then enter the addresses in each panel.

This type of add-on was especially practical for tasks such as comparing prices between several stores, tracking multiple real-time services (email, chat, analytics, social networks) or keep a service always visible while browsing other websites, all in the same window without needing to stack operating system windows.

Split-view extensions based on iframes and windows

Another family of solutions for working with multiple websites in parallel within the browser are extensions that create a kind of control panel with several embedded pagesSome, such as those aimed at improving search efficiency, use a simple split into two windows; others, such as Super Split View, allow up to four simultaneous pages.

A common feature of these extensions is that they offer two working modes. On the one hand, a single-tab mode based on iframesThis creates a split view within a single browser tab. There, you can load multiple URLs in internal panels, resize them by dragging the borders, and add or remove panels with one or two clicks. It's ideal for having a "command center" with several tools visible at once.

On the other hand, many of these extensions recommend a tiled window modeInstead of embedding pages within a single tab, they arrange different browser windows so that they fit perfectly on the screen (two, three, or four, depending on the case). The advantage is that this maintains the full functionality of all browser components: ad blockers, password managers, and other add-ons continue to work exactly the same in each window, without restrictions.

These tools typically allow you to create and manage multiple "workspaces" or split-view sessions. You can assign names to each configuration (for example, “Project X Research”, “Social Panel”, “Campaign Tracking”) and the tab or window title automatically updates to reflect that name. This makes it very easy to switch between environments depending on what you're doing.

Controlling these solutions is usually very intuitive: to create a new view, you select some tabs and click on the extension icon; to add a specific tab to a workspace, you use a dynamic context menu which allows you to send it to the desired panel. In addition, the panels are resizable by dragging the divisions, and you can manage multiple independent sessions at the same time.

In the realm of search, there are specific extensions that split the screen in two: one side displays the search engine results page, and the other opens the destination page. Thanks to shortcuts like Ctrl+click or Shift+click When clicking on a link, you can specify whether the website opens in a new tab in the adjacent panel or in the current tab of that panel. This way, you never lose sight of the results list and avoid constantly clicking the "back" button.

Advantages and limitations of split-screen mode in browsers

Although each browser has implemented split view in its own way, they share a central idea: Improve multitasking without leaving a single windowHaving two pages visible at the same time, whether with Firefox's native solution, Edge's split screen, or extensions that create multiple panels, offers several clear advantages for everyday use.

On the one hand, you reduce the number of clicks and context switches. Instead of constantly switching between tabs or windows, You have the information you need always in view.This is ideal for comparing information, following a statistics dashboard while you work, monitoring social media, or playing reference content.

On the other hand, these types of modes help to better organize the workspace. Instead of accumulating dozens of tabs in the bar, you can organize them into split views and group tasks by panels or workspacesespecially if you use extensions that allow you to save custom configurations with specific names and layouts.

However, it's not all advantages. These features have only been in browsers for a relatively short time and still have room for improvement in stability and optionsIn the case of Firefox, for example, its native split-view mode is still in beta testing, so it's normal to find minor bugs and changes in behavior as development progresses.

Nor should we forget the hardware factor: displaying several complex pages at once in the same window or in several tiled windows can spike RAM and CPU usageThis is especially true for websites loaded with scripts, video, or interactive elements. Therefore, these types of features are much more enjoyable on computers with ample memory and processing power.

Despite these limitations, the trend is clear: browser developers are investing time and resources in Refining split-screen as a productivity toolEdge is leading the way in refinement, Chrome continues to advance from its testing channels, and Mozilla is strongly reactivating Firefox development to avoid falling behind, combining new features like Split Tabs with sidebar improvements, AI integration, and other new features.

Taken together, all these options make split view a very attractive feature for anyone who spends many hours working in the browser and needs to see more and click less, whether from Firefox's native tools, from experiments like Side View, or by using advanced split-screen add-ons.