To delete a virtual desktop, first hit Windows+Tab to open Task View. This method is handy if know exactly where you want to move the window. If you prefer, you can also right-click a window, point to the “Move To” menu, and then select a specific desktop to which you want to move the window-or even create a new desktop and move the window there in one action. You can now drag that window to another virtual desktop. Hover your mouse over the virtual desktop containing the window you want to move.
You can also move apps and windows between virtual desktops. Back to that example where the Store is open on Desktop 3: if I look at the taskbar on Desktop 3, I can see that the Store app is open (it has a line under the icon).īut look at the taskbar on any other desktop, and it looks like the app isn’t running.
If you then try to open the Store app on a different desktop, instead of opening there, you’ll jump to the desktop where that app is open.Īnd unfortunately, Windows doesn’t give you a good way-other than opening up Task View and poking around-to see if an app is open on another desktop.
Say you opened the Store app on Desktop 3. The Windows Store app is a good example of this. You could have Chrome windows, Word docs, and so on open on that desktop, and still have other Chrome windows and Word docs open on other desktops.īut, some apps only allow you to have a single window open at a time.
Say, for example, you had a desktop devoted to a specific project. With apps that let you open multiple windows-like, say, Chrome or Microsoft Word-you can open different windows for those apps on different desktops. This is where things get a little tricky. So, for example, if you switch to “Desktop 3” and open a Chrome window there, that Chrome window remains on Desktop 3 until you close it or move it to another desktop. It’s time to populate those desktops with the stuff you need.įirst things first: if you switch to a desktop and then open an app or other window there, the window opens-and stays-on that desktop.
So, now you’ve created a new desktop, and you know how to switch between them. Work with Windows and Apps on Virtual Desktops And if you’re using a touch screen device or a precision touchpad, you can move between desktops with a four-fingered swipe. You can then use your arrow keys to move between desktops, and then hit the Enter key to jump to the selected desktop.Įven better, you can switch between virtual desktops without using the Task View at all by just hitting Windows+Ctrl+Left or Right arrow keys. Now, hit Tab again to move the selection to the desktop row. Press Windows+Tab to bring up Task View and then release the keys. You can also switch between virtual desktops just using your keyboard. It’s much like switching between apps on a single desktop-you just have them organized into separate virtual workspaces. You can click a desktop to jump there, or click a specific window to jump to that desktop and bring that window into focus. Hovering over a desktop with your mouse shows you the windows currently open on that desktop. When you have more than one desktop, the Task View shows all your desktops at the bottom of the screen. Having tons of them kind of defeats that purpose. After all, you’re creating them to help organize your activities. That said, we highly recommend you keep virtual desktops to a minimum. We created 200 desktops on our test system just to see if we could, and Windows had no problem with it.
Windows 10 allows you to create as many desktops as you need. To add a new desktop, click the “New Desktop” button at the bottom right of the screen. If you’ve never set up an additional virtual desktop before, that’s all that Task View shows. You can switch to any app by just clicking on it.
The Task View is a full screen app switcher that shows all the apps running on your PC. You can also open the Task View by hitting Windows+Tab on your keyboard. Right-click any open space on the taskbar and choose the “Show task view button” option to turn it back on. If you don’t see that button, you might have switched it off. On the taskbar, click the “Task View” button.