You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Two mail windows

When I open mail on iPad, there are two little mail windows at the bottom of the screen. I know I opened the second one by tapping + at some point. How do I get rid of it? I don’t mean multiple apps nor draft e mails but a duplicate window of the mail app

thanks, Parami

Posted on Apr 21, 2022 3:21 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 21, 2022 3:26 AM

Having updated to iPadOS15, you have now encountered the “Shelf” - this being a new feature of the now revised iPadOS multitasking environment. 


iPadOS permits you to have multiple “instances” of the same App - each instance being self contained. The shelf, when triggered, shows a thumbnail of each running instance of an App. 


For example, if you have three running instances of Safari, each with its own set of open tabs, you will see three thumbnails corresponding to each running instance of Safari - plus a button to open a new instance of Safari. Simply tapping a thumbnail will switch directly to that running instance of Safari. Each App - such as Mail, Safari, Notes, Calendar, etc. - has its own corresponding shelf.


Individual open instances of an App can be closed directly from the Shelf; just swipe the unwanted thumbnail off the top of the screen.


This article from Appleinsider has a useful explanation of this new feature along with many of the updates to multitasking:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/08/12/how-to-master-multitasking-on-ipad-and-ipad-pro-in-ipados-15


The iPad User Guide is also a rich source of frequently overlooked information. The Guide is available both online using a web browser (such as Safari), or as an Apple Books download:

iPad User Guide - Apple Support

https://books.apple.com/book/id1567104892

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 21, 2022 3:26 AM in response to parami2u

Having updated to iPadOS15, you have now encountered the “Shelf” - this being a new feature of the now revised iPadOS multitasking environment. 


iPadOS permits you to have multiple “instances” of the same App - each instance being self contained. The shelf, when triggered, shows a thumbnail of each running instance of an App. 


For example, if you have three running instances of Safari, each with its own set of open tabs, you will see three thumbnails corresponding to each running instance of Safari - plus a button to open a new instance of Safari. Simply tapping a thumbnail will switch directly to that running instance of Safari. Each App - such as Mail, Safari, Notes, Calendar, etc. - has its own corresponding shelf.


Individual open instances of an App can be closed directly from the Shelf; just swipe the unwanted thumbnail off the top of the screen.


This article from Appleinsider has a useful explanation of this new feature along with many of the updates to multitasking:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/08/12/how-to-master-multitasking-on-ipad-and-ipad-pro-in-ipados-15


The iPad User Guide is also a rich source of frequently overlooked information. The Guide is available both online using a web browser (such as Safari), or as an Apple Books download:

iPad User Guide - Apple Support

https://books.apple.com/book/id1567104892

Two mail windows

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.