Before the release of Windows 11, the most current version of Windows was Windows 10. If you have not upgraded yet (like me), you no doubt appreciate some cool features in Windows 10. One of the new features windows included when releasing Windows 10 is virtual desktop. This feature could be handy to make sure your desktop and taskbar are not littered with too many open programs running concurrently.
So in this presentation, we will learn the following:
- What are virtual desktops?
- Why are virtual desktops useful?
- How to set up virtual desktops
Now let us start with the very first item above..
What are virtual desktops?
First of all, you should know what a desktop is. The screen on your computer with many icons representing computer programs, folders or files. Windows 10 used the same concept to create what they called virtual desktops. So instead of having just one desktop screen where everything is displayed - icons, windows, etc, you can actually create multiple desktop windows and group your open programs inside each of those desktops.
So with virtual desktop, there is more than one desktop window housing everything. You could have 2 or more virtual desktops depending on how many programs are open at the same time. For example, instead of having 10 windows open in your desktop and all minimized to the taskbar, it would be a much better arrangement to have 3 virtual desktops and each having 5 windows in them. That way, it would be easier to move across them and look at what is in them.
Why are virtual desktops useful?
There are many reasons you might want to use virtual desktops. I will explain just two of them below:
Organize your screen: Virtual desktops make your screen look great while working. It is just like using folders to store related files. Virtual desktops could be used to keep windows of the same or related work together. That way, it would be easy to work on all at the same time.
Prevent prying eyes: So if you are using your computer in a public place and you do now want people peeping over your shoulder to watch your screen, virtual desktops could come handy. You can always quickly move to another desktop if you suspect someone is trying to see what you are doing. When they look away, you can return to the desktop and continue.
While you think about other ways a virtual desktop would be useful, lets see how to create and use virtual desktops.
How to set up virtual desktops
There are up to three different methods to create and use virtual desktops. I will not demonstrate all of them. I will demonstrate the easiest method which involves using keyboard shortcuts.
Note: The first desktop containing all your windows is the first virtual desktop. We can go ahead and create new ones.
Step 1: Open some programs to form the first desktop window.
Step 2: Hit WIN + Tab to see the first desktop. Then click New desktop.
Step 3: You can see the second virtual desktop labelled Desktop2. Now I will open 3 programs inside this window.
I now have two virtual desktops. If I wish I could add more. Here are the two virtual desktops.
The two virtual desktops I made have 3 programs inside each of them. When using one of the desktops, I can choose to switch to the next. The keyboard shortcut that brings that up is still WIN + Tab
Conclusion
Virtual desktops are very useful in the Windows 10 operating system. It ensures that you are able to group your open programs into these desktops and work from each of them through switching. That is another cool Windows 10 feature.
Note: The thumbnail is from Pixabay. Other Images are mine
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