
close
close
Chance to win $250 in Petri 2023 Audience Survey
In this Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to work with virtual desktops in Windows 10 Technical Preview. In Windows 10 Technical Preview: Using Snap, Task View, and Virtual Desktops on the Petri IT Knowledgebase, I wrote about Windows 10’s new desktop features and how implementation would be especially critical to the success of virtual desktops. While virtual desktops still need some refinement, if you want to experiment or have jumped in at the deep end and installed Windows 10 on your PC (not recommended), read on to see how virtual desktops work.
Let’s start by creating a new virtual desktop. Log in to Windows 10 and follow the instructions below.
The Task view icon in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Add a virtual desktop in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
You’ll see three large preview thumbnails in the Task view bar at the bottom of the screen, showing your original desktop on the far left, the new desktop in the center, and the Add a desktop button on the right. To switch to the new desktop, click the center preview thumbnail. TIP It’s also possible to create a new virtual desktop by pressing WIN + CTRL + D.
You can see that Notepad still appears in the taskbar, even though it’s not open on the second desktop. This is to allow fast switching between apps no matter which desktop they’re open on.
Identify apps on different virtual desktops in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
The fact that Notepad is running on a different desktop is indicated by the small bar beneath the Notepad icon on the taskbar. But if more than one copy of Notepad is open on the same or different desktops, then this indicator disappears.
Switch between virtual desktops in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Now there’s a preview of both open desktops, and the option to open a third if you like, and you can easily switch between open desktops by pressing WIN + CTRL + LEFT and WIN + CTRL + RIGHT, without having to enter Task view.
To quickly cycle through all the open apps, regardless of which desktop they’re open on, click ALT + TAB.
Let’s reduce the number of open desktops by moving File Explorer from the third desktop to the second, and closing the third desktop.
Move apps between virtual desktops in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Finally, let’s close the third desktop now that there are no apps on it.
Close virtual desktops in Windows 10 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
If you close a desktop that has open apps, the apps are not closed but moved to the adjacent desktop on the left. Desktops can also be closed by pressing WIN + CTRL + F4.
More in Windows 10
Microsoft Offers Temporary Fix for Start menu or UWP App Freezing Issues on Windows 11 and 10
Jan 26, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft Releases a Script to Recover Some Windows App Shortcuts Deleted on Friday 13
Jan 16, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
[Updated] Microsoft to Fix Defender Bug Deleting Windows Apps Shortcuts from Taskbar
Jan 13, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft FastTrack Now Helps IT Admins Deploy Windows Autopatch at No Additional Cost
Jan 13, 2023 | Rabia Noureen
Microsoft's January Patch Tuesday Updates Fix 98 Windows Vulnerabilities
Jan 11, 2023 | Laurent Giret
Most popular on petri