Ever wished you could set up your Windows PC so that you had multiple virtual desktops, one with all the apps laid out for gaming, one for work, and one for social media? Or a completely different configuration? Turns out that Windows 11 offers just that with its Virtual Desktops feature. It’s great!
Ever come back from the grocery store just to realize that you don’t have space in the fridge for all your new purchases? Working with apps on computers is exactly the same experience; you can never have enough actual display screen real estate. Fortunately, many years ago user interface developers at MIT came up with the idea of virtual workspaces. It’s as if your actual display is just a window overlaying a row of desktops that you can switch between, and it’s a great boon to productivity.
Shortcuts: Enable Task View | Create Virtual Desktops | Shortcuts & Renaming
It’s so popular that it’s available on all major operating systems, from MacOS to Linux, ChromeOS to Windows. Each platform gives it a different name (for example, it’s “Spaces” on Mac) and Microsoft calls it “Desktops” or “Virtual Desktops”. Whatever you call it, I really find it hugely useful. Let’s check it out!
ENABLE TASK VIEW FIRST
If you already see a white square superimposed over a black square on your Taskbar, you’re halfway there. If not, right-click on a blank area in the Taskbar and choose “Taskbar Settings” to get here:
See that second option for “Task view”? Enable it. You can then close this window (unless you want to peruse the other options shown which can help you customize and de-clutter your Taskbar). Now the icon appears on the Taskbar:
You can see it above 3 from the leftmost shortcut icon. Here’s where it gets fun: Click on it.
It’s a bit hard to read, but the upper portion shows a thumbnail for each program and the lower portion shows all of the virtual desktops created. Since I don’t have anything set up, it just shows “Desktop 1” (the default) and “New desktop” with a mnemonic “+” in the middle.
CREATE NEW DESKTOPS, MOVE APPS
Click on the white box with the “+” to create a new virtual desktop.
This new desktop, ingeniously called “Desktop 2”, doesn’t have any apps assigned, so it’s empty.
Now what?
Click on Desktop 1 again and you’ll see all the running apps on the upper portion and the new Desktop 2 shown in the lower portion:
I have Microsoft Edge, Spotify, and the Snapshot Tool running. To move any of them to the new virtual desktop, it’s as easy as a drag and drop: Click anywhere in the app thumbnail and drag it to the desired desktop. I’ll move Spotify onto its own desktop in just that manner, then click on Desktop 2.
Looks like it’s the only thing running (even by the dot under the active apps on the Taskbar) but it’s not! It’s just the only app running in this virtual desktop.
RENAMING DESKTOPS AND SHORTCUTS
Now that you have multiple virtual desktops, you can move between them with Task View, but you can also four-finger swipe left or right on a trackpad or use the shortcut Window + Control + arrow. I tend to use the trackpad gesture but they all work fine.
Now Desktop 2 looks like this (with that recorder still running so I could take screenshots!)
If you find yourself using virtual desktops a lot, you can actually rename them too. Simple go to Task View, click on the existing name, and start typing in something new…
That’s it. Between the keyboard shortcuts and the Task View feature, you’ll be enjoying your virtual desktops in no time!
Pro tip: I’ve been writing about Windows for many years. Please check out my Windows help area for lots more useful tutorials while you’re visiting the site!