If we’re being honest, the release of macOS Catalina has not been quite as graceful as Apple may have hoped. This iteration was expected to be the largest in some time considering the introduction of Catalyst applications.
May 15, 2018 The full screen app is remembered by the app state, thus if you make the app full screen then on relaunching that app it will be full screen again. That’s how you make apps open in full screen mode on the Mac, there is no other way. There is no settings option or otherwise to make things always full screen. If you love Mail on your iPad or Mac, you'll appreciate split screen on iPhone. Unlike the rest of the apps we use as examples, you can turn off the split screen view in Mail. If you prefer to see only the open email, tap the full-screen icon in the upper right of the email, and the split screen view will disappear.
Contents
- 2 How to fix Mail opening in Split Screen
- 3 Conclusion
Related Reading
Unfortunately, Catalina has been marred with bugs ever since the developer beta began. This has extended to many applications, including Apple’s own Mail app.
One frustrating issue has been when the Mail app opens in split screen all by itself.
Mail opening in Split Screen on macOS Catalina
This bug may not be exactly new to Catalina, but the Apple Mail app has been wreaking havoc on users for quite some time. Whenever a new version of macOS is released, there are expectations that “major” bugs would be fixed. In the case of Mail opening in Split Screen, that is simply not the case.
Notably, the problem seems to occur if you are working in a fullscreen of another application. An example of this may be browsing Reddit or watching YouTube in Safari in full-screen mode. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Mail app decides to just open itself in a split-screen view.
![Screen Screen](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126389278/316015007.jpg)
This seemingly occurs due to some bugs found when you have Gmail connected to Mail. Every once in a while, the authentication between Google and Apple Mail will seemingly fail. This causes Mail to open up on its own, causing you to re-authenticate the login.
How to fix Mail opening in Split Screen
Since the bug is related to Gmail, you’ll want to go through and remove the account from Mail before doing anything else. Here is how you remove an account:
- Open the Mail app on your Mac
- Click Mail in the menu bar
- Select Accounts from the drop-down
- Highlight the Google account you want removed
- Tap the “-” button on the side
- Click Ok to confirm
Create an App Password for Gmail
Mail App Split Screen Mac
This will remove the Google account from Mail, but you aren’t done just yet. The next step you want to take is to enable two-factor authentication (2FA), and create an “App Password” to use with Mail on macOS Catalina.
- Open your browser and navigate to your Google Account Security Settings
- Scroll down and select 2-Step Verification
- Login and confirm your Google account email and password
- Toggle 2-Step Verification On
From here, you are given the option to either use a Google prompt, or through a text message with verification codes. When you use a Google prompt, you must have the Google app installed on your phone, and a notification will arrive confirming that you are logged in.
When completed, go back to the main Security Settings page and select App Passwords. In the box, hit the first drop down and select Mail, and in the second box select Mac. Then tap Generate. This will create a password only to be used with your Gmail account along with the Mail app on your Mac.
Get Gmail back in the Mail app on macOS Catalina
Now that the App Password has been generated, you need to open the Apple Mail app on your Mac. Then follow these steps:
- Click Mail in the menu bar
- Select Accounts from the drop-down
- Click the “+” button at the bottom
- Select Other Accounts from the list of options
- Select Mail account
- Enter your Gmail email account and the App Password that you created earlier
- Tap Sign In
After you have signed in, the Mail app will ask whether you want to sync Mail and Notes with this account. Leave Mail checked, and you can either choose to sync Notes or not, then press Done.
Now that the account has been added, it will take some time for the Mail app to sync the data between your Gmail account and the app itself. However, once completed, you should not run into anymore instances of macOS Catalina’s Mail app opening itself.
Conclusion
There are far more bugs and quirks when it comes to macOS Catalina than Apple would like to admit. We are sure that these issues will be rectified with future incremental updates. As is the case with many software releases, you can either choose to upgrade and file bug reports, or just hang back until many bugs have been squashed.
Mac Split Screen Shortcut
If you continue running into issues with macOS Catalina, sound off in the comments below and we’ll be more than happy to assist. As for the Apple Mail app, let us know what you think about the upgrades provided or if you have been using another client such as Spark or AirMail.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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Mail User Guide
When you use Mail full screen, it’s easy to read and write messages and access your Inbox at the same time—perfect for copying and pasting text or attachments between messages.
I can last a whole day with my mac being chardged now i gotta charge it every so often. Not even 5 mintues and it's already heating up. Apple please fix this now or give us a botton to go back to our old OS. Size of stuff on screen macos app. Like its a good update, but there are to many down sides, like the heating up quickly and the battery. Ashley Andrea Gallardo, Horrible OSI hate how this os makes my macbook heat up so quick.
Note: When Mail is full screen, messages open in Split View by default. If you want messages to slide up from the bottom of the screen instead, choose Mail > Preferences, click General, then deselect “Prefer opening messages in split view when in full screen.”
- In the Mail app on your Mac, move the pointer to the green button in the top-left corner of the window, then choose Enter Full Screen from the menu that appears or click the button .
- With Mail full screen, do any of the following:
- Open a message: Double-click a message in the message list. Each message you double-click opens in a new tab.
- Start a new message: Click the New Message button in the toolbar. Each message you start opens in a new tab.
- Close one or more tabs: To close the current tab, click its Close button . To close all tabs except the current one, Option-click its Close button instead.
- Send a message: Click the Send button in the message toolbar. If you’re working on several messages, be sure to first click the tab of the one you want to send.
- Save a draft message: Click the Close button in the message toolbar (or the Close button in the tab if you have several drafts open), then click Save. If you’re working on several messages, you’re asked if you want to save each one.
- Make one side bigger if you’re using Split View: Move the pointer over the separator bar located in the middle, then drag it left or right. To return to the original sizes, double-click the separator bar.
- To stop working with Mail full screen, move the pointer to the green button again, then choose Exit Full Screen from the menu that appears or click the button .
![Mail App On Mac Split Screen Mail App On Mac Split Screen](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126389278/647761677.jpg)
You can use Mail in Split View with another app, such as Safari or Pages, to make it easier to copy and paste information between a webpage or document and your email message. See Use apps in Split View.
See alsoSave draft emails in Mail on MacManage windows on Mac