I have tried Terminal.app multiple times, but have come back to iTerm2 every time because I've not been able to figure out how to do that.
Why _not_ use tmux? It is pretty fantastic software, and IMO provides a much better interaction model. iTerm itself is even integrated w/ tmux through control mode.
If at some point you move to Linux or Windows, you can learn tmux proper there. No reason to resort to lower common denominator behavior just to get a "cross platform asset".
When I'm on linux I end up using Konsole or Terminator (depending on the env) which support this functionality. So other than the saving remote sessions - which looks really cool - I've not had a strong impetus to learn tmux.
1) Rebind the prefix key from ctrl-b to ctrl-space. 2) Map alt-h,alt-j,alt-k,alt-l to move between window panes. 3) Remap the split keys to something more accessible. 4) Start numbering windows at 1 instead of 0 (makes switching more intuitive imo). 5) Steal a simple configuration for the status bar from the internet.
Beyond that, the defaults are pretty straightforward, and you don't really need to know much to get started. I can share my config if someone is interested.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7758368 Also, not really a Tmux problem, but every so often I'll encounter some wacky behaviors with scrollback & when doing cursor selections via PuTTy from my windows boxes.
Cmd + Shift + D
Or better yet, just use tmux!