Struggling with iPadOS 26 multitasking features

iPadOS multitasking has received a significant makeover from that to which you may be accustomed in iPadOS 18.x and earlier - and may take a little time to learn and adjust your workflows. You would be well advised to review the official iPadOS User Guide and the many available online tutorials (such as YouTube) to become better acquainted with the new multitasking interface and associated gestures and controls.

Work with multiple windows at once on iPad - Apple Support

OS - iPadOS 26 - Apple

The three-dot multitasking button with which you are no doubt familiar from earlier versions of iPadOS has been replaced with the traffic-light button to access and control the revised window-based User Interface.

If you dislike the windowed environment, you can switch to using the basic Full-Screen App mode - but this disables all multitasking capabilities and hide the traffic-light controls; you will not be able to use split screen or slide-over modes with which you are likely familiar:

Settings > Multitasking & Gestures - select Full Screen Apps

Apple invite submission of constructive comments and feature requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you would like Apple to reconsider recent changes, or alter the appearance or function of the multitasking controls, this would be the most appropriate and effective path to having your voice heard:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

zurmaraced68 wrote:

Tried to begin with multiple open movable windows and find that the little “c”shaped symbol at the bottom right corner of the window doesn’t work. When I try to slide it, Instead of sizing the window, it does a screen shot - that’s the setting I had set in my previous system setting. Really confused!

If you have updated to iPadOS 26.x, this described behaviour would indeed be very confusing - as, when the iPad multitasking is operating in Windowed Apps or Stage Manager modes, the corner-swipe gestures using a finger are not available. In these multitasking modes, corner-swipe gestures with a finger are used to re-size windows. This differs from iPadOS 18.x and earlier versions.

However, if using an Apple Pencil, the equivalent corner-swipe gesture from the corners of the screen will trigger a Screenshot and/or open QuickNote - as configured in iPad settings.

If the iPad's multitasking is configured for Full-Screen Apps mode, the familiar finger corner-swipe tiggers for Screenshot and QuickNote are available.

In more detail...

Trigger Screenshots with a finger gesture (for iPadOS 26, only available in Full-Screen Apps mode)

A screenshot can be triggered with a simple diagonal swipe of the finger from either (or both) the bottom-left or bottom-right corner of the screen:

Settings > Multitasking & Gestures >

• Swipe Finger from Corner - set to ON
• Bottom Left Corner - select as required
• Bottom Right Corner - select as required

Note: These gestures are not available when using iPadOS26 Windowed Apps or Stage Manager multitasking modes - however, the screenshot can still be triggered using an Apple Pencil...

Trigger Screenshots with an Apple Pencil (all multitasking modes)

You can trigger a screenshot using an Apple Pencil with a swipe from the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen:

Settings > Apple Pencil > [Pencil Gestures]

• Bottom Left Corner - select as required
• Bottom Right Corner - select as required

Additional Notes

Other ways to trigger a screenshot from an iPad are described here:

Take a screenshot on your iPad - Apple Support

By definition, a screenshot will capture the entire screen. If you only wish to capture part of the screen, you can crop the captured image using the iPadOS markup tools:

Take and mark up a screenshot with Apple Pencil on iPad - Apple Support

When using an external monitor or TV in Stage Manager mode, triggering a screenshot will capture both screens - with each screen being captured as a separate image.

Additionally, Siri will also respond to a voice command "take a screenshot".

Me too. As I’ve said elsewhere, been using Apple products since the second Mac. As each new system came, I added the new stuff to my existing knowledge. With 26 it’s like starting from scratch. I’m overwhelmed!

Tried to begin with multiple open movable windows and find that the little “c”shaped symbol at the bottom right corner of the window doesn’t work. When I try to slide it, Instead of sizing the window, it does a screen shot - that’s the setting I had set in my previous system setting. Really confused!