Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for iPad Now Support Split View - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for iPad Now Support Split View

Microsoft today released updates to its suite of Office apps for iPad, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Notably, Word and PowerPoint for ‌iPad‌ now support Split View, which allows you to open two documents simultaneously side-by-side.

word split view
Split View can be accessed by touching and holding on a document in any file view and then dragging it to the left or right side of the screen. To exit Split View, grab the slider in the middle of the screen and drag it to either the left or right to close one of the documents and take the remaining one full-screen.

powerpoint split view
Microsoft is also said to be working to implement full support for the new trackpad controls introduced in iPadOS 13.4, but these are not yet available. Basic trackpad functionality is present, but Microsoft still has some work to do to roll out support for the complete set of trackpad features.

(Thanks, Nelson!)

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored Colors

What's Coming in September: New iPhones, Apple Watches and More

Thursday August 13, 2026 4:20 pm PDT by
Apple will introduce at least five new devices at its iPhone-centric event next month, and it's also possible we'll get devices waiting on Siri AI like the Apple TV. iPhone 18 Pro The iPhone 18 Pro is going to look like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting some internal updates, including a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more control over lighting ...
Everything New Your iPhone Can Do on iOS 27 Feature 1

30 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27

Friday August 14, 2026 6:24 am PDT by
Apple will release iOS 27 in September, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features on the way, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era. This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though, as the following feature list...
iPhone 17 One Year Later Thumb 1

Should You Buy an iPhone 17 Now or Wait for iPhone 18?

Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...

Top Rated Comments

richpjr Avatar
82 months ago

IWork crushes them both. but glad they are supporting the platform.
Crushes them? Now that is definitely a subjective opinion.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
82 months ago
IWork crushes them both. but glad they are supporting the platform.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
82 months ago
Weird, why didn’t Excel get this functionality?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
richpjr Avatar
82 months ago

Now let’s hope both Microsoft and Google update Docs and Word to handle trackpad support.
I keep wondering if it is Microsoft and Google’s or even Mac’s best interest to offer rich trackpad support and see people flock away from Chromebooks, Windows and Mac’s to use their iPads instead?
With my Magic Keyboard on my 12.9 i don’t see myself hopping onto anything else to type anything anytime soon.
Microsoft has already said that full trackpad support is coming later this year.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cipher29 Avatar
82 months ago
Maybe I'm dumb, but I just want to have two powerpoint decks side by side and be able to drag a slide from one deck to the other... I'm always pulling slides from various decks into one, but have never been able to do this cleanly on an iPad (and I have to think this isn't a unique use case)..

Anyone know an easy way to do this? I pretty much never create a slide deck from new :/


EDIT: Looks like you can copy and paste one slide to the other deck ... Fonts are all jacked up, but it's better than before!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Geardo_Ranger Avatar
82 months ago

Microsoft today released updates to its suite of Office apps for iPad, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Notably, Word and PowerPoint for iPad now support Split View, which allows you to open two documents simultaneously side-by-side.



Split View can be accessed by touching and holding on a document in any file view and then dragging it to the left or right side of the screen. To exit Split View, grab the slider in the middle of the screen and drag it to either the left or right to close one of the documents and take the remaining one full-screen.



Microsoft is also said to be working to implement full support for the new trackpad controls ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/05/08/microsoft-office-apps-to-get-trackpad-support/') introduced in iPadOS 13.4, but these are not yet available. Basic trackpad functionality is present, but Microsoft still has some work to do to roll out support for the complete set of trackpad features.

(Thanks, Nelson! ('https://twitter.com/nelsonehus18/status/1259711084065243141'))

Article Link: Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for iPad Now Support Split View ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/05/11/microsoft-word-powerpoint-ipad-split-view/')
🥱 Call me when they start bringing more features from full WORD, like maybe “REFERENCES” so anyone writing an academic paper can build citations? I mean come on.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)