One of the many things that sets Linux apart from Windows is the ability to have multiple workspaces or virtual desktops in Linux. VirtuaWin brings the power of having virtual desktops to Windows. These virtual desktops can be used to divide your open applications in different desktops instead of getting them cluttered in one place. For example, you can play music in one virtual desktop and use Microsoft Word in another while keep websites open in the third.
VirtuaWin is a virtual desktop manager for Windows. It supports all the versions of Windows starting from Windows 95 (if someone still uses it) to Windows 8. It lets you organize the virtual desktops on your PC. It allows you to have any number of virtual desktops as you want. You can download it from the sourceforge website of VirtuaWin. The download is available in form of setup installer as well as a portable application.
After the installation, it puts an icon in the notification area of Windows (also called system tray). You can right-click on this icon and select to switch from one virtual desktop to another. In the beginning it has four virtual desktops but you can change their number later from the settings windows. The settings window of VirtuaWin can be accessed by right-clicking on the system tray icon and selecting Setup or just by double-clicking on the system tray icon.
In the VirtuaWin settings, you can select a desktop layout where you can set the number of virtual desktops. You can also assign a name to the virtual desktops through the desktop wrapping configuration. Assigning names to virtual desktops makes it easy to switch to a virtual desktop. VirtuaWin allows you to set a number of hotkeys as well. These hotkeys can be used to switch from one desktop to another.
VirtuaWin allows you to control the virtual desktops using the mouse too, but this function is disabled by default. You can enable and configure the mouse support in the VituaWin settings. Unlike the Microsoft’s Desktops tool, VirtuaWin does not display a desktop preview for all the desktops which makes it difficult to know what is happing inside a desktop. You have to actually switch to a virtual desktop to view its contents.
VirtuaWin is a free open-source project that gives the multiple workspace functionality to Windows. It is a portable application and can be used even from a USB drive. One advantage it has over the Microsoft Desktops tool is that you can configure the layout of virtual desktops and have any number of virtual desktops.
You can download VirtuaWin from http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/.