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# splitView

The split view that the split view controller manages.

```
var splitView: NSSplitView { get set }
```

## Discussion

This property gives you access to the split view controller’s split view for querying its attributes or customizing it.

By default, a split view arranges its child views vertically from top to bottom. To specify a horizontal (side-by-side) arrangement, implement the [`isVertical`](/documentation/AppKit/NSSplitView/isVertical) property of the split view object to return <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Swift/true>.

Also by default, a split view has a divider style of [`NSSplitView.DividerStyle.thin`](/documentation/AppKit/NSSplitView/DividerStyle-swift.enum/thin), and doesn’t have an autosave name.

> Important:
> Don’t change the ``doc://com.apple.appkit/documentation/AppKit/NSSplitView/delegate`` property of a split view through the ``doc://com.apple.appkit/documentation/AppKit/NSSplitViewController/splitView`` property of a split view controller, and don’t call any methods on the split view object using this property. If you do, the system raises an exception.

To provide a custom split view, set this property at any time before you call `super` in the inherited [`viewDidLoad()`](/documentation/AppKit/NSViewController/viewDidLoad()) method; that is, before the split view controller’s [`isViewLoaded`](/documentation/AppKit/NSViewController/isViewLoaded) property is <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Swift/true>.

The split view isn’t always the same object as that in the split view controller’s inherited [`view`](/documentation/AppKit/NSViewController/view) property. To access the split view, always use the [`splitView`](/documentation/AppKit/NSSplitViewController/splitView) property.

---

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