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How to Use Virtual Desktops in Windows 10

How to Use Virtual Desktops in Windows 10

September 25, 2020 by Mel Hawthorne Leave a Comment

One of the almost hidden features in Windows 10 is the ability to use multiple virtual desktops to organise your workspace. A virtual desktop is an extra desktop environment, that’s identical to your normal desktop, however, the windows and documents open in it are entirely independent.

How to use virtual desktops

There are two ways to add a new virtual desktop. The first is accessed by opening the “Task View” pane by pressing Windows key + tab. Once in the Task View pane, click on “New desktop” in the top left corner. Alternatively, you can press Windows key + Ctrl + D to open and immediately switch to a new virtual desktop.

Tip: Whenever you create a new virtual desktop, you are immediately switched to it. If you used the first method but don’t want to switch to it straight away, you will have to switch back before leaving the Task View pane.

Press the Windows key + tab shortcut to open the Task View pane, then click “New desktop”.

To switch between virtual desktops, you can click on them in the top bar of the Task View pane. Alternatively, you can cycle one virtual desktop left or right by pressing Ctrl + Windows key + left/right respectively.

Click on a virtual desktop in the Task View pane to switch to it.

You can move a window from one virtual desktop to another by opening the Task View pane, then clicking and dragging the window to the virtual desktop you want to use it on.

You can also set a specific window or even all windows from a specific app to appear on all virtual desktops. To do this, open the Task View pane, then right-click on the relevant window and click “Show this window on all desktops” or “Show windows from this app on all desktops” respectively.

Click and drag windows to the virtual desktop you want them to be on or set them to appear on all virtual desktops.

To close a virtual desktop, open the Task View pane, then click the “X” icon above, and to the right of the preview of the relevant virtual desktop. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Windows key + F4 to close the current desktop environment.

Tip: If you have any open windows in a virtual desktop you close, they will get moved to the next virtual desktop to the left.

Close virtual desktops by opening the Task View pane, then clicking the “X” icon above and to the right of the preview of the virtual desktop you want to close.

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Filed Under: Windows

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Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

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