How To Go To Different Desktops On Windows
Evaristo Nicholls
Windows 10, now enjoying the October 2020 Update, continues to make it extremely easy to set up and use multiple virtual desktops in Windows 10. Multiple desktops are great for keeping unrelated, ongoing projects organized, or for quickly hiding from the boss that browser game you can't stop playing. And if you've not yet upgraded to Windows 10, be sure to have a look at our collection of the best Windows laptop options with the latest OS.
You can switch back to your original desktop at any time by following the above steps but choosing Desktop 1. There's also a Ctrl + Windows key + Left and right arrow keyboard shortcut that you can use to switch between virtual desktops. Using a device with a touchpad? You can perform a four-finger swipe left or right to switch between virtual desktops.
Open and running windows in a desktop you close will be moved back to your original desktop. You can also use the Ctrl + Windows key + F4 keyboard shortcut to immediately close the virtual desktop you're currently viewing.
Multiple desktops are also helpful with separating work matters from personal activities, like entertainment and games, to keep you focused when you need to work. Stowing your streaming and gaming apps away in another desktop keeps them out of sight and out of mind as you work, which helps to minimize distractions.
Windows 11 features take multiple desktops to new heights with customization settings. With Windows 11, you can customize the backgrounds for each desktop and rename them based on their functions. Customizing your desktops can help you differentiate them with ease when you need to flip through your screens.
You can also use Task View to customize your desktops. Simply right-click your desktop in Task View to see your options for renaming and changing the background of each screen. To switch out your desktop, open Task View or press Windows key+Ctrl+right/left arrow key.
The Snap feature tool that takes your desktop organization a step further. With the Snap feature, you can put the apps you use most on one screen to optimize your desktop space. If you are constantly flipping between your messaging app and browser for work, you can snap them together and have them appear on the screen at the same time. To access Snap layouts, press Windows key+Z, and choose a predetermined Snap layout that best fits your needs.
I have a new PC running WIN11. I have watched so many videos and have read a lot of stuff about multiple desktops. The videos show the exact kind of functionality I am after...to have multiple desktops that are groomed to support different activities...like one desktop has all my gaming stuff (Icons/shortcuts etc..) They all show how to add a desktop/change background /rename it/ drag icons to it....but none of that works for me ....any added desktop starts off as a clone of the original Desktop ...and then anything you do on any desktop replicates that same action on all the others... and you can never drag an icon onto the "add desktop " selection the add desktop tool dissapraers as you get close to the add desktop tool..... this is very disturbing that there are instructional vidoes that seem to show this sought after functionality none of them say anything about multitasking or registry changes or any relationship to OneDrive...they show it working very simply and that is what I would like to do why is this so "mystical " ?
How and why are there so many video tutorials that show the creation and development of multiple desktops that DO operate independently from each other ?? Why so much inaccurate "propaganda" that leads to what I see here is a large amount of frustration. You can either do it like all these" how to" videos show, or you cant like all of us on this thread are complaining about ...which is it?
This has been capable on the android operating system for a long time now. The main purpose of creating different desktops is to, well...have different "desktops" with different icons for different purposes, like Work vs Home, vs Gaming vs Web Development vs Programming vs Whatever! I don't understand??? What were the team of developers ,the idea people ,and the executives thinking...or smoking? Hmmmm.
Adobe: Is there a way to have multiple instances of Acrobat DC running at the same time? If not, please make it so I can have multiple instances of Acrobat DC across multiple Desktops. I'm running Adobe Acrobat DC (21.007.20099)
For example, I have two virtual desktops, one for personal and one for work. I have an acrobat instance open in my personal desktop. Then I'll switch to the work desktop and open a PDF file there. It will open and swith to my private desktop. A better approach and how it should work is to open a new Acrobat instance in work desktop so I don't need to switch between desktops.
I was going to create a video for you, but I have too much personal info on my computer that I would prefer to keep private. So here are some step by step instructions that should make the problem perfectly obvious. The root problem is that Adobe Acrobat DC only supports one instance of itself at a time.
--> switch back and forth between Desktop #1 and #2. You will notice two INSTANCES of Microsoft Word, each with a different document open, Any action in either instance of Microsoft Word has no affect on the other instance. This is the desired behavior.
As stated above, the root problem is Adobe Acrobat DC only supports one INSTANCE (or Window) of itself, whether on one desktop or across several. For instance, even before virutal desktop became a feature, people familiar with Windows often ran multiple instances of software in one desktop (try apps like Calculator that are built into Windows). While Windows 10 supports multiple desktops, Windows 11 has made the feature much more user freindly, encouraging users to separate major tasks (like work and play) on two or more seperate virtual desktops, each with their own instance of the apps they use.
I second all these requests to fix this. Really prevents usage of Virtual Desktops almost entirely. Any newly opened file should by default go to the last active window OF THE CURRENT VIRTUAL DESKTOP.
1. To make Adobe Acrobat DC generate multiple instances I had to create a shortcut and add the command line switch /n. Not at all the same as the 'out of the box' experience such as MS Word and other apps.
2. Double-clicking on a PDF document will always open the doc in the last opened instance of Acrobat. If the last instance resides in a different desktop, then you are automatically switched to that desktop - this is undesired behavior.
EDIT: Just checked the same thing on Lubuntu 18.04.2 LTS and the quirk remains the same. Whatever windows I launch in desktop 1 gets launched in the other desktops too (they should be empty). Also, I like 19.04 better in terms of looks and speed. IT just seems snappier (negligent margin though) than the 18.04 LTS version. Not that 18.04 is slow by any measure.
I must be missing something obvious because I cannot re-create this problem. If I load an installed or live version of either version, open up the file manager and switch to the other desktops, I do not see the file manager.
Autocad 2017 seems to have decided that it is the only program I need to look at on all of my multiple workspaces in windows 10. Once I make Autocad the active window, if I attempt to use the task view button on the task bar or the winkey+ctrl key command it just shows Autocad as the only thing on all of my spaces. I use these spaces to seperate different types of programs and workflows or to have quick access to information that might be pertinant to what I am working on without having to change the "active" window in order to see it.
I believe that Win10 is the first version to support multiple worskapces. It's been a *Nix thing for years, but IIRC it's not been implemented in Windows before. I would guess that was not something that was considered before shipping.
Win 10 was the first version with multiple desktops being built into the system, as for whether or not it works with other versions of autocad I am not sure. I have only just started using Autocad again the last version I used was probably sometime around 2007? it was in highschool. Regardless, I have several other cad programs that I use often that allow me to switch between spaces without any trouble.
I wonder if it has something to do with then large number of dialoge boxes and inputs that making windows think that it is still the active window when using multi tasking key commands. Like trying to use alt-tab when you are still inputing data for a line?
Big was my disappointment though, when I found Autodesk products don't have the functionality. Not only that, but they seem to be the only software that doesn't support virtual desktops, amongst many standard third party software applications that our company use.
Considering recent events with upgrades and updates causing problems with AutoCAD, I find that hard to believe. I wouldn't hold your breath counting on a patch. New Windows features have historically been addressed in future versions and not the very next one. I'm pretty sure 4K resolution is still not supported.
I just wanted to chip in, you can use multiple monitors as well as multiple desktops. I have three monitors and three separate desktops and each screen is used on all desktops. You can also drag and drop programs between different screens and by hitting Windows+Tab you can see all of your desktops and programs and switch quickly.
There is no issue with the desktops when using any version of Revit (14-17), but it does happen on both Autocad 16 and 17. I have noticed that if only one tab is open in CAD it only shows up in the one window it is supposed to. The moment you open another drawing CAD shows up in all desktops. I really hope we get a fix for this issue soon.
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