How to have Multiple Desktops in Windows?
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If you are a fan of Linux, you must be familiar with multiple desktops which come by default. These multiple desktops are very useful to manage the sessions you work at any time. While working on a project you open lots of windows and if you consider taking a break by browsing some sites or reading some blogs you again open lots of windows. If you want to play some games again you open couple of more windows. At the end of all, you have every window in a single desktop that looks more cluttered and it’s hard to manage. So with the multiple desktop you can segregate your project work from your blogging and reading news online from your games window.
So knowing the benefits, How to have Multiple Desktops in Windows?
Recently, I installed Yet anOther Desktop Manager 3D (Yeah that’s the actual name of the software). Yod’m 3D, is very light weight software which allows you to have four desktops. You can make this software to load every time Windows starts or you can activate it only when you needed. This software works in Windows 2000, XP and Vista.
How to use it?
Use Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right keys to move to Next/Prev Desktop
Use Ctrl+Shift+Up Keys to show a ‘far’ view of the current desktop. Use Left or Right Arrows to move around.
Use Ctrl+Shift+Down Keys to show a ‘near’ view of the current desktop. Use Left or Right Arrows to move around.
You can also use your mouse to turn the desktop cubes by holding Ctrl+Shift
How to move a Window to another desktop?
Sometimes only after opening couple of sites you feel that you should have opened this in another desktop. It doesn’t matter as you can move windows by shortcut keys.
Click on the Title Bar of the window and while keep holding press Ctrl+Shift.
Use the Left or Right arrows to move it to another desktop and release all the keys.
Wallpapers:
You can different wallpapers in each of the desktop. Just use the windows option to change the wallpapers.
Easy Access:
If you are not sure in which desktop you have a particular application, just click the Yod’m 3D symbol in the task bar and it will list down all the application in other desktops. You can click them to directly move to that application.
[...] Mr.Byte tells you how to have multiple desktops in Windows. [...]
note you can also change the “background behind the cube” – when you zoom out. By replacing the file in the installation folder named (background) with another picture (provided you call the newly inserted one backgroun.jpg like the original).
Thank you Sam for that Tip
Cool tip. Thanks for sharing
That’s great, I love my beryl/ubuntu desktop. but I need something like this for vista and xp. after using beryl in linux i feel cramped when trying to multitask in windows. Like the walls are closing in on me. haha. thanks a lot
Nice tip..
BTW is it a free ware?
@Nirmal, Yeah that’s a freeware and works in both Windows XP and Vista
[...] How to have Multiple Desktops in Windows? by Mr.Byte [...]
[...] Notable PowerToys are, Virtual Desktop Manager (Or you can use Yet AnOther Desktop Manager which works even for Vista), ClearType Tuner, Alt-Tab Replacement, Tweak UI and others. If you [...]
This is cool
Byte, do you know if it freeze up the window at all?
@Andy, No it didn’t freeze not even a single time for me till now.
Anyone know if you can set a program (ie trillian) to be viewed on all desktops? Or to set up different icons on each desktop (one desktop has work shortcuts, one has multimedia)? Seems like a fun program, but extended functionality would be nice
The poor mans multi display, I use this on my tablet but the desktop has 4 screens.