Split Screen in Atom Editor

Question

Using the command palette

Open the command palette with cmd + shift + p (OSX) or ctrl + shift + p (Linux/Windows) and type "split". You'll see options for Up, Down, Left, and Right split.

Using keyboard shortcuts

Split the current tab in a direction with the following shortcuts

• Up       cmd / ctrl + k then ↑
• Down  cmd / ctrl + k then ↓
• Left     cmd / ctrl + k then ←
• Right   cmd / ctrl + k then →

You can close an active split pane with cmd / ctrl + k then cmd / ctrl + w.

Move between panes

If you want to move between open panes (with the keyboard) you have to modify your keymap file. Go to Atom -> Open Your Keymap and include this:

'body':
  'cmd-alt left': 'window:focus-pane-on-left'
  'cmd-alt right': 'window:focus-pane-on-right'
  'cmd-alt up': 'window:focus-pane-above'
  'cmd-alt down': 'window:focus-pane-below'
  'cmd-alt-2': 'pane:split-right'
  'cmd-alt-3': 'pane:split-down'

This is my personal setup. I was used to Sublime's default cmd + alt + arrow. Change the left side commands to your personal preference.

Note

You need to press cmd-alt once, release, and then press the arrow button. Otherwise it won't work.

I found this at Split Windows - issue #64:

It seems like Atom already has support for splitting windows (cmd-k + arrow key)

Right click anywhere on an open file, select "split left"

If it duplicates a file, "x" it out.

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Result:

I have created a beginners cheat sheet for Atom that lists some introductory notes and keyboard shortcut commands etc. Its on github @ https://github.com/pd-gmit/atom-cheatsheet/blob/master/atom_cheatsheet.md

You could always just right click anywhere on the file and the split options are available in the context menu.