Creating and Managing Virtual Desktops in Windows
Alright, here’s where I initially got tripped up—if your screen is cluttered with too many open windows or you’re after a smarter way to organise your workspace, Windows has a handy feature called Virtual Desktops. Think of it as having multiple workspaces on one screen. It sounds fancy, but it’s incredibly useful for keeping things tidy, switching between tasks, or dividing up different projects. Honestly, I didn’t realise how useful it would be until I gave it a proper go. The tricky part was just finding where the controls are, because sometimes they’re hidden or labelled in a strange way. Plus, the options can be a bit sneaky or tucked away behind menus that aren’t obvious at first glance. And a word of warning—if you’re not careful, creating or deleting desktops can cause some odd behaviour with your files, especially if you’re using encryption tools like BitLocker.
How to Create a Virtual Desktop in Windows
Creating a new desktop might look simple, but I had a bit of a stumble because Windows hides the creation button right next to the search bar — it’s usually an icon with overlapping rectangles. If you don’t see it, try right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Show Task View button. Once it’s visible, clicking on it opens the Task View — which is basically a visual timeline of all your desktops and open apps. It’s a bit sneaky, honestly. Alternatively, you can press Win + Tab for a speedy shortcut (once you get the hang of it). When Task View opens, you’ll see thumbnails of your current desktops, each labelled with a number. To add a new one, just click New Desktop or hit Win + Ctrl + D. That shortcut creates a fresh workspace instantly — no need to mess around with the mouse. That shortcut was a real game-changer for me — I often forget I can just shortcut my way through everything. Now, I’ve got a clean slate for each project without cluttering up my main desktop.
Navigating and Switching Between Desktops
Switching between desktops becomes quite straightforward once you know the shortcuts. Hovering over the thumbnails in Task View gives you a quick preview — useful if your windows are all over the shop. Clicking on a thumbnail switches you straight away. But for quickness, I rely on Win + Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow. It’s speedy and means I don’t need to reach for the mouse. Oh, and here’s a handy tip I figured out—pressing Win + Ctrl + D creates a new desktop and flips to it immediately. Pretty slick, but I did have a moment of “Hang on, where am I now?” when I first tried it!
Moving Program Windows Between Desktops
Here’s a tip I didn’t pick up right away—moving open apps from one desktop to another. You can actually drag a window directly in the Task View from one thumbnail to another. Or, right-click the window’s title bar, select Move to, then pick the desktop you want. This is great for keeping your stuff separate, especially if you’re switching gears mid-task, like moving from work to gaming. Not all apps cooperate though—some older programs or non-Microsoft Store apps might be stubborn and refuse to move. That can be a bit frustrating. Still, dragging windows around feels pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it.
Closing and Deleting Virtual Desktops
When you no longer need a desktop, closing it’s simple — hover over the thumbnail in Task View and click the little “X”, or press Win + Ctrl + F4 to close the active desktop. A quick heads-up: this doesn’t delete your apps or files. It just closes that workspace and pushes the open programs into neighbouring desktops. If you think you’ll want those apps again later, they should reopen when you go back to that desktop. Also, be sure to save all your work first — closing a desktop won’t save anything unsaved automatically. Better to be safe than sorry!
Managing Multiple Desktops
If you’ve got several desktops open, closing them is just a repeat of the same process. Keep opening Task View and hit Win + Ctrl + F4 to close the current desktop. But don’t close all of them blindly unless you’re happy to lose some info or shuffle content between desktops on the fly. Each desktop is independent, but closing one will move all its windows into another — which can get a bit confusing if you’re juggling a lot. I find it easiest to close the extras once I’m finished with them. If you really want to, PowerShell can do this in bulk, but for most of us, it’s probably overkill.
Extra Tips for Making the Most of Virtual Desktops
To get real value out of this feature, try dedicating a separate desktop for different tasks: one for work, one for entertainment, one for personal stuff — whatever keeps your chaos in check. Pair that with Snap Assist (Windows + Arrow keys) to neatly arrange your windows within each desktop — it’s surprisingly efficient once you memorise the shortcuts. You can also tweak these settings in Settings > System > Multitasking, like turning Snap Assist on or off, and enabling suggestions when you snap windows. It’s not immediately obvious, but these tweaks can turn you into a virtual desktops power user in no time.
Honestly, I spent way too long fiddling with these features before realising how seamless and useful virtual desktops really are. They’re powerful but a bit tucked away, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t find everything straight away. Just have a poke around in Settings, try out Win + Ctrl + D and Win + Ctrl + Left/Right, and you’ll be a pro in no time. It’s all about experimenting until you find what works best for your workflow.
Hope this helps — it took me ages to figure it all out, so hopefully this saves someone else a weekend. Just remember to save your work manually and check that your shortcuts don’t clash with other apps. Good luck and happy desktop hopping!