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May 07, 2020 Here’s how to use Sidecar in MacOS Catalina to make your iPad a second screen. Check your hardware. Apple Newsroom/Apple Inc. Sidecar only works on the newer models of iPads and MacBooks. According to that same white paper. Update to iPadOS and MacOS Catalina. Log in to the same Apple ID. Oct 22, 2019 Sidecar, one of the most exciting new features in macOS Catalina 10.15, lets you use your iPad as a Mac display and your Apple Pencil as a graphics tablet for pressure-sensitive drawing and sketching in Mac apps, marking up screenshots and PDFs and more. On the Mac side, a Skylake CPU or Apple's T2 chip is needed to support the hardware-accelerated HEVC video encoding of an encrypted video stream used to send a secondary virtual display to the tablet.
- Oct 10, 2019 Sidecar is one of the most prominent new features in macOS Catalina, allowing your iPad to extend or mirror your Mac's display. You can also use it with the Apple Pencil, which also lets you use your iPad as a connected drawing and markup tablet, much like a Wacom or similar accessory.
- Oct 09, 2019 4. IPad as a Mac drawing tablet Even though it will only be used by a small subset of users, the most impressive part of Sidecar is how it works when you use an Apple Pencil with an iPad that's.
In macOS Catalina, an iPad running iPadOS can be a secondary display for your Mac with a single click using Sidecar. Here is everything you need to know to use Sidecar for yourself, when Catalina and iPadOS ship.
Getting started
To use Sidecar you need two things; an iPad running iPadOS and a Mac running macOS 10.15 Catalina. Apple has yet to publish hardware requirements but initial research has it limited to the 27-inch iMac from Late 2015, the 2016 MacBook Pro, 2018 Mac mini, the new Mac Pro, the 2018 MacBook Air, the Early 216 MacBook and newer models.
While it is limited in the initial beta to these models, older Macs may be able to enable the feature in some cases using the terminal command: defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display allowAllDevices -bool YES
Getting started with Sidecar is dead simple. There is no fiddling around, no digging in menus, no opening display preferences. It is as easy as heading to the menubar and opening the AirPlay menu.
As long as your iPad is either on and near your Mac or plugged in with a Lightning or USB-C cable, it should appear in this menu. Just click on it and a second later both displays will refresh and you will see your Mac desktop extended to the iPad's display.
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In our experience with Sidecar the feature is shockingly fast and smooth with great graphics — even when going wireless. One thing you cannot do is unplug your iPad in an attempt to go wireless. Doing so will disconnect the display and will require you to quickly reconnect through the AirPlay menu once more.
On your iPad, the Sidecar UI is quite simple. By default your Mac's screen will be slightly recessed with a bar to the bottom and one side. The sidebar is home to several common controls you may need (especially if using the iPad's keyboard that may not have these buttons) such as Command, Shift, Option, and Control. There are also buttons to open the on-screen keyboard, to disconnect from your Mac, and to move the Dock to the iPad.
The bottom is home to the Touch Bar — just like you'd see on a MacBook Pro's keyboard. You don't need to have a Touch Bar on your Mac for this to be useful, however. It shows regardless and brings several app-specific controls. While playing a video you have fast access to media controls and a scrub bar. In Final Cut Pro X you can easily mute tracks or change tools.
From the Mac, the Side Bar can be moved to the left or the right and the Touch Bar can be moved to the top or the bottom depending on your preference. Both of these bars can be turned off as well which brings your Mac's desktop full-screen on the iPad.
Apple Pencil works great with Sidecar. Whether just controlling the mouse and controlling the UI or in specific artistic applications that can make use of a tablet.
Instead of shelling out for a Wacom or Intuous tablet that can get pricey, you can just rely on your iPad you already have. We pulled up Affinity Photo and easily edited some 47MP RAW photos with ease — even on our MacBook Air.
There is a System Preferences panel to Sidecar that has a few options for you to choose from, but customization is quite limited. For the wider market, limited options is for the best to keep the utility simple.
From System Preferences, you can move the side bar to the left or the right and you can move the Touch Bar from the bottom to the top. You can also enable or disable the double tap functionality of Apple Pencil.
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If you go from the top menubar you can hide the side bar and Touch Bar completely and opt to either mirror your display or extend your display.
Sidecar is just one of many new features coming to macOS Catalina. iTunes has been split into music, podcasts, and TV-specific apps, developers are going to be able to port their iOS apps directly to the Mac, Notes and Reminders got revamped significantly, and much more.
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Apple will be releasing macOS 10.15 Catalina this fall alongside iOS 13, iPadOS, tvOS 13, and watchOS 6.
Update: Research into the first beta revealed a list of blacklisted hardware, limiting Sidecar to newer Mac releases. As it is still only the first beta of macOS Catalina at the time of writing, Apple may expand the support list to include older models before the operating system's release to the public.
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Extend or mirror your Mac desktop with Sidecar
- Make sure that your Mac and iPad meet the Sidecar system requirements.
- You can use Sidecar wirelessly, but to keep your iPad charged during use, connect it directly to your Mac with the USB charge cable that came with your iPad.
- Click the AirPlay icon in the menu bar on your Mac, then choose the option to connect to your iPad. Or use Sidecar preferences to connect.
If you don't see the AirPlay icon, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays, then make sure that ”Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available” is selected. - Your iPad should now show an extension of your Mac desktop. You can move windows to it and use it like any other display.
- To mirror your Mac display so that both screens show the same content, return to the AirPlay menu, which is a blue rectangle while using Sidecar. Choose the option to mirror your display. This is a great way to share your Mac screen with others.
- To end your Sidecar session, return to the AirPlay menu and choose the option to disconnect. Or click the Disconnect button in the sidebar on your iPad.
Learn more about using external displays. For example, you can use Displays preferences to arrange displays so that your iPad extends the left, right, top, or bottom of your desktop.
Move a window to your iPad display
If you hover your pointer over the full-screen button of a window, you can choose to move that window to or from your iPad display. It's faster than dragging the window, and the window is perfectly resized for your display.
The sidebar puts commonly used controls on the side of your iPad screen. It includes Command, Shift, and other modifier keys, so you can choose essential commands with your finger or Apple Pencil instead of a keyboard.
Use Sidecar preferences to turn off the sidebar or change its position.
Tap to show or hide the menu bar when viewing a window in full screen on iPad.
Command. Touch and hold to set the Command key. Double-tap to lock the key.
Option. Touch and hold to set the Option key. Double-tap to lock the key.
Control. Touch and hold to set the Control key. Double-tap to lock the key.
Shift. Touch and hold to set the Shift key. Double-tap to lock the key.
Undo the last action. Some apps support multiple undos.
Use the Touch Bar
Many apps on Mac have Touch Bar controls that make common actions even easier. With Sidecar, you get a Touch Bar on your iPad screen even if your Mac doesn’t have a Touch Bar. It works just like the Touch Bar on Mac, and you can tap its controls with either your finger or Apple Pencil.
Use Sidecar preferences to turn off the Touch Bar or change its position.
If the Touch Bar doesn't appear when using an app that offers Touch Bar controls, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Mission Control, then make sure that “Displays have separate Spaces” is selected.
Use gestures for scrolling and other actions
Multi-Touch gestures on iPad remain available when using Sidecar. These gestures are particularly useful with Sidecar:
- Scroll: Swipe with two fingers.
- Copy: Pinch in with three fingers.
- Cut: Pinch in with three fingers twice.
- Paste: Pinch out with three fingers.
- Undo: Swipe left with three fingers, or double-tap with three fingers.
- Redo: Swipe right with three fingers.
Use Apple Pencil
To point, click, select, and perform tasks such as drawing, editing photos, and manipulating objects on your iPad while it's extending or mirroring your Mac display, you can use your Apple Pencil instead of the mouse or trackpad connected to your Mac. You can also use it to write, sketch, and mark up documents while seeing the updates live on your Mac.
Sidecar also supports double-tap, which you can turn on in Sidecar preferences. Double-tap enables apps that support this feature to perform custom actions when you double-tap on the side of your Apple Pencil (2nd generation).
Use a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad
During your Sidecar session, you can type using a keyboard connected to either your Mac or iPad, including the Smart Keyboard or Magic Keyboard for iPad.
To point, click, or select with a mouse or trackpad, use the mouse or trackpad connected to your Mac, or use an Apple Pencil on your iPad.
Use iPad apps
While using Sidecar, you can switch to an iPad app, then interact with that app on your iPad as you normally would. This suspends your Sidecar session until you switch back to the Sidecar app or disconnect Sidecar. The Sidecar app appears on your home screen only while using Sidecar.
Use Sidecar preferences
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sidecar. These preferences are available only on computers that support Sidecar.
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- Show Sidebar: Show the sidebar on the left or right side of your iPad screen, or turn it off.
- Show Touch Bar: Show the Touch Bar on the bottom or top of your iPad screen, or turn it off.
- Enable double tap on Apple Pencil: Allow apps that support this feature to perform custom actions when you double-tap on the side of your Apple Pencil (2nd generation).
- Connect to: Choose an iPad to connect to, or click Disconnect to stop using Sidecar.
Sidecar system requirements
Sidecar requires a compatible Mac using macOS Catalina and a compatible iPad using iPadOS 13:
Mac using macOS Catalina
- MacBook Pro introduced in 2016 or later
- MacBook introduced in 2016 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later
- iMac introduced in 2017 or later, plus iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac Pro
- Mac mini introduced in 2018 or later
- Mac Pro introduced in 2019
iPad using iPadOS 13
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- iPad Pro: all models
- iPad (6th generation) or later
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
Additional requirements
- Both devices must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication.
- To use Sidecar wirelessly, both devices must be within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other and have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff turned on. Also make sure that the iPad is not sharing its cellular connection and the Mac is not sharing its Internet connection.
- To use Sidecar over USB, make sure that your iPad is set to trust your Mac.
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Learn more
- Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference, which can affect Sidecar performance when using Sidecar wirelessly.