Virtual Desktops is one of the new features in Windows 10 that they seem to have borrowed from Linux – only in Linux they are called workspaces. And this new feature basically works exactly just as you would expect – you can open, close and switch to different virtual desktops in your Windows 10 PC. This gives an average user two major benefits – it expands the desktop size (virtually, of course) without having to buy new computer screens and it lets you group different types of programs on different virtual desktops. For example, you can keep your social networking, media player and other fun activities on one desktop and keep work related activities on another desktop – making your computer screen look much more clean and organized.
In order to open or close a virtual desktop and switching between different desktops, you can follow this approach:
- Click/touch on the Task View icon in the Windows taskbar. Alternatively, you can also use the Win+Tab hotkey.
- In the Task View screen you will be able to see all the existing virtual desktops. If only one desktop is being used, then you can click on New desktop near the bottom-right corner of the screen to create a new virtual desktop.
- If there are already more than one desktops in use, then the Task View screen will display them near the bottom edge of the screen from where you can close them or switch to them.
If you are not very keen on using the mouse or the fingers to manage your virtual desktop related activities, then you can try your nimble fingers on your keyboard and use the following hotkeys.
Basically you can do everything with virtual desktops using the hotkeys. You can create a new desktop, switch to the previous and next desktops, and close the current desktop using these hotkeys.
Virtual desktops in Windows 10 give many benefits to the users who want to keep their apps and programs separate to maximize their productivity. You can manage these virtual desktops using both the graphical interface and the hotkeys.