How do I use multiple desktops in Windows 10?

When Microsoft finally added virtual desktop support to Windows 10, my productivity instantly skyrocketed. Virtual desktops create secondary [and tertiary, and..] home screens for your PC, each running instances of its own software, that you can quickly hop between. They’re one of the . But every time I profess my love for virtual desktops I inevitably get asked, “What do you use them for?”

I can only speak to my own experiences, of course. I like segregating my work software from my play software, to resist the allure of Discord and GeForce Now when I’m on the clock. Virtual desktops also come in handy if I’m working on several complicated projects at once—each one gets its own desktop. But don’t just take my word for it! Buried deep in a revolving around using Win + Shift +  to shift windows between your monitors [], I found an where real people were sharing how they use virtual desktops.

Reddit user

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kicked things off with a use case that mirrors my own. “[Virtual desktops aren’t] bad for focus if you’re disciplined about it, but I think it really shines when you have a multi-step project you’re working on that’s layout sensitive, or having to juggle a couple projects simultaneously.”

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said using them should making running online Dungeons & Dragons campaigns much easier, which

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expanded on. “A lot of the time you have a ton of space being taken up by the actual online D&D tool, but you can also set up a whole desktop of relevant documentation, notes, etc., that can come up at a keypress, rather than shuffling windows. You could even stage documents for several encounters that way. Think of it as a way to very easily switch between groups of arranged windows.”

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Windows 10’s Task View: The top of the screen shows all your virtual desktops, the middle shows the apps running in the current desktop, and the bottom shows Timeline. [Click image to enlarge it.]

Now that’s practical—and damned helpful for overwhelmed DMs.

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uses virtual desktops to segregate types of tools, rather than discrete projects. “I use multiple desktops to organize applications based on activity,” they wrote. “Communication [Teams, Email, etc] on one desktop, coding on another [IDE, terminal, all the browser tabs], etc.”

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breaks out virtual desktop when legal research gets too complex for their ultrawide monitor. “Maybe I’ll need to compare an old version of a statute with the new one or compare one regulation to another. That will go into side-by-side windows in a separate desktop,” they wrote. “Maybe I’ll also need to track down some case law. I’ll start a new desktop and start collecting. Depending on my needs, maybe I’ll segregate my jurisdiction’s cases in one browser window, other jurisdictions’ cases in another window, and maybe I’ll put some secondary resources [e.g., dictionaries, treatises] in a third window. And if there are multiple topics, I’ll often research them in separate desktops.”

So there you have it: Five different ways that five different users [including yours truly] get more done with virtual desktops. If you stew on it a bit you might just come up with a unique use case for your own particular work flow—and you might just be blown away by how much time and hassle this feature can save. Our guide to explains everything you need to know to get started, step-by-step and keyboard shortcut-by-keyboard shortcut. Enjoy your newfound productivity!

With Windows 10, Microsoft finally brought a feature that is standard on other desktop operating systems to Windows: multiple desktops, which the company calls virtual desktops. This is admittedly a power user feature, but it can be helpful for anyone who wants an extra bit of organization.

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10.

 Viktor Hanacek / PicJumbo

The key starting point for multiple desktops is Windows 10's Task View. The easiest way to access it is the icon to the right of Cortana on the taskbar — it looks like a big rectangle with a smaller rectangle on each side of it. Alternatively, you can tap the Windows key+Tab.

Task View is a better-looking version of Alt+Tab. It shows all your open program windows at a glance, and it lets you choose between them.

The biggest difference between Task View and Alt+Tab is that Task View stays open until you dismiss it — unlike the keyboard shortcut.

When you're in Task View, you'll see a button that says New desktop. Select that, and at the bottom of the Task View area, two rectangles labeled Desktop 1 and Desktop 2 appear.

Select Desktop 2, and you land on a clean desktop with no programs running. Your open programs are still available on the first desktop, but now you have another one open for other purposes.

If you're still scratching your head as to why you'd want more than one desktop, consider how you use your PC every day. If you're on a laptop, switching between Microsoft Word, a browser, and a music app can be a pain. Putting each program in a different desktop makes moving between them much easier and removes the need to maximize and minimize each program as you need it.

Another way to use multiple desktops is to have all your productivity programs on one desktop, and your entertainment or game items on another, or you could put email and web browsing on one desktop and Microsoft Office on another. The possibilities are endless and depend on how you organize your programs.

You can move open windows between desktops by opening Task View and then using your mouse to drag and drop from one desktop to another.

After you have all your desktops set up, you can switch between them using Task View or by using the keyboard shortcut Windows key+Ctrl+right or left arrow key. Using the arrow keys is tricky because you have to be aware of which desktop you are on. Multiple desktops are organized on a virtual straight line with two endpoints. Once you reach the end of that line, you have to go back the way you came.

In practical terms, you move from desktop 1 to desktop 2, 3, and so on using the right arrow key. When you reach the last desktop, you go back through using the left arrow. If you find that you jump between numerous desktops out of order, it's better to use Task View where all open desktops are consolidated in one spot.

The multiple desktops feature has two key options you can adjust to your liking.

1. Select Start.

2. Choose Settings from the Start menu.

3. Select System.

4. Select Multitasking and scroll down until you see the heading Virtual desktops.

Here are two options that are easy to understand:

• The top option lets you decide whether you want to see the icons for every single open program across the taskbar of every desktop or only on the desktop where the program is open.
• The second option is a similar setting for the previously mentioned Alt+Tab keyboard shortcut.

Multiple desktops aren't for everybody, but if you're having trouble keeping your programs organized in one workspace, try creating two, three, or four in Windows 10.

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