Samsung quickly changed the way we multitask and use apps with its implementation of the Multi Window. This feature allows Galaxy S 4, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy S III users to use two apps simultaneously. You can check your Gmail while watching videos on YouTube or look up a map while talking to someone in Hangouts without having to switch to the app completely.
Samsung created a Multi-Window tray with Android 4.2.2 that makes it easy to open apps into Multi Window. It can be placed on either the left or right side of your home screen and you have complete control of what apps show in it. Of course if you don't have Multi Window enabled, you may not even know it exists. Hit the break to find out how to enable, hide, move, and edit the Multi Window tray.
Enabling Multi Window
1) Open the Quick Panel by swiping two fingers from the top of the screen towards the bottom
2) Make sure Multi Window is selected
3) You should see a tabbed icon at either the left middle or right middle of your home screen. If you don't, long press on the back key and it will become visible.
Hiding the Multi Window tab
You might find that you don't use the Multi Window tray a lot, but you also don't want to disable it. You can simply hide the tabbed icon by long pressing on the back key. When you are ready to open the Multi Window tray again, just long press on the back key again.
Moving the Multi Window tray
1) Open the tray by tapping on the tabbed icon
2) Press and hold onto the tabbed part of the tray.
3) Drag the tray over to the opposite side and release
Editing the applications that show in Multi Window the tray
1) While the tray is open, tap on the Edit icon at the bottom
To the right are apps that you can add to the tray. Just drag them to the tray. If you want to remove any apps out of the tray, just drag them out. You can also change the order of the apps within the tray by simply dragging and dropping.
For those that prefer video instead of pictures, this hands on video shows you everything we just covered.
Nope, want to add MY OWN CHOICES not the only choices inside the bosx, how is this done?
how to hide apps in android 4.2.2
Tysm for all ur help!! That little tray was bugging the crap outta me!! Lol
I have my screen set to black and my reading apps set to black at night. The white button is glaring. Can I change it to black background?
I have an s3 and when I long press the back key the multi window tray does not appear, any ideas on how I can resolve this?
Check whether the multi window is turned on
when I first got my tablet set up I had the Facebook pages app in the tray and I could run it as a window. With the following Facebook pages app is no longer and I cannot add it to the train for the Edit menu. where did it go?
My s3 is updated but the multi window icon is disable, cant use it. :( whats wrong? Help? Tnx
The Multi window tray is not truly capable.
You are limited to the apps that can be added to the tray. For instance. You cannot add Yahoo fantasy sports app to the tray.
Useful thanks!
I don’t see the app I want in the tab bar nor is it in the edit folder. Is the edit folder customizable? How do apps get into this folder?
So am I
I jus got s galaxy tab 3 and I dont see the multiwondow option anywhere, ive looked but its not thetr is it possible that my tabr didnt vome with it?
I have a galaxy s3 and when I updated my phone, my multi window tab changed from blue to white and it won’t move to the top of my screen where I loved having it. Now it only stays on either the left or right side which is really annoying!
How ridiculous that the basic phone is not supported. It’s always maddening to transcribe numbers from notes to phone and vice versa during calls. And the soppy phone isn’t supported on multi-window. What a joke.
omg… you’re right! That’s so sad. and there is so much dead space available to do that with. Oh… here’s a work-around. When you have the note with the number you need, use the s-pen in “pen window” mode. Then you can draw a little box to put the phone app in. it’s kind of lame with the Samsung Action Memo app because it shrinks the note to preview when you draw the “pen window” but it works well with my other note app.
Hey where can i see the apps that are compatible to multy window.
my multi-window on samsung tablet has ceased to function. Whatvtondo?
Love to Know the answer to this. Anyone ?
but im looking for how to add what isnt on the tab! like i use go sms for texting,.. yahoo msgr and other apps how can they added thats whtat i wanna know… the only answers i came up with is rooting my phone…why do i have to do that? anyone kno message me newmum8711 at yahoo.
I guess they only allow some apps..
Same here, that’s a shame – how do they even determine what goes here and what doesn’t, some are preinstalled apps and some are the ones I installed afterwards
The multi window task never appear active after latest updates on Samsung Grand duos ??? Any help
I have the same situation as u after updating 4.2.2, anyone else?
Same here…dnt know what to do or how to get it back after the update. I can see the icon but when i try pressing it, it wont do anything..What should i do?
me too. :/ what should i do? anyone knows what to do with these?
Only annoying feature I’ve ever seen on the Android. I went mad figuring out how to turn it off. I never enabled it; it just showed up one day when I turned the phone on. Wish they hadn’t decided to put the tab on top of other buttons! Grrr!
Thanks for the good help. Glad there is someplace like this where I can go to figure out the little things that aren’t obvious or explained elsewhere! :o)
you can also just keep the back button down to turn the tab on or off.
Can anyone tell me what clock widget that is? And how to get more apps in the bottom tray?
It’s a launcher ryt? Nova launcher or something. Check on google play!
I have a question can you add more apps to put in to the multi window tray to use or is there only certain apos can be used in the multi window tray
It said it could only take apps that support multi-window, but if you scroll it all the way down while holding the device straight up, there’s an edit button.
I know this is an old thread, but…. Yes, you can add more apps (that aren’t already offered) using an app called MultiWindow Manager. Down side is that your phone must be rooted. If you didn’t root before upgrading to 4.4.2 KK then you’re SOL!!
What determines which apps show up? I have no desire to multi-window any of the two apps that show up on my phone, and I can’t seem to add the apps that I would like to multi-window. The way it is, I’ve turned the feature off.
The apps themselves determine if they can show up or not. It’s up to the dev to implement a little thing to add compatibility with this feature, and touchwiz will pick it up automatically.
That explains the Facebook one apparently. I don’t have that installed.
I wish these limitations would be better covered in the tech press. So far I’ve found the Samsung apps and features to be very disappointing. It makes me regret not holding out and paying for a Google edition instead. Great phone, but marginal added software.
I just bought 12.2 inch Samsung tablet yesterday and I installed Facebook pages application and I was able to run it in the window. But today the Facebook pages app is missing from the window and I can’t even find it in the Edit menu so it no longer runs as a window. I can’t figure out where it went or how to get it back. Has anyone encountered a situation where an application that used to run as a window no longer runs as a window?
There is a way to add apps that aren’t setup by the developer to be used in Multi-Window, but it requires that your phone be rooted. It’s an app in the Play Store called the “Samsung Multi-Window Manager”.