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A desktop in Windows is a work area that contains different groups of apps or content open and available for various tasks or aspects of your life. You can configure multiple desktops to create separate workspaces for different activities, helping you stay organized and enhance your productivity.
Why multiple desktops are useful
Multiple desktops enable you to compartmentalize your tasks, reducing clutter and minimizing distractions. Here are some common use cases:
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Work and personal separation: Keep your work applications and documents on one desktop and personal apps on another, ensuring a clear boundary between work and personal life
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Project management: Manage multiple projects simultaneously by dedicating a desktop to each project, making it easier to focus and stay organized
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Meeting preparation: Quickly switch to a desktop with all the necessary applications and documents open before a meeting, ensuring a smooth and professional presentation
Create a new desktop
Here are the steps to create a new desktop:
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Open task view: hover over the task view icon on the taskbar, or press the Windows logo key + Tab
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Select New desktop
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Rename the desktop: once created, you can select the name of the desktop and rename it to your liking
Configure backgrounds for each desktop
Customizing the background for each desktop can help you visually distinguish between different workspaces. Here's how to do it:
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Open task view: hover over the task view icon on the taskbar, or press the Windows logo key + Tab
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Right-click on the desktop that you want to customize and select Choose background
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Select a Picture: In the Personalize your background section, select Picture from the dropdown menu and choose the image you want to set as the background
Note: When using multiple desktops, setting a custom background for each desktop is only possible when using a picture. You cannot use a slideshow or have a different solid color for each desktop.
Switch between multiple desktops
Here are the steps to switch between multiple desktops:
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Open task view: hover over the task view icon on the taskbar, or press the Windows logo key + Tab
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Select the desktop: choose the desktop you want to switch to
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Open apps: the apps you want to use on that desktop
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Switch desktops: to switch to another desktop, select Task view again
Do you want to learn more about multitasking in Windows and how to use multiple desktops effectively? Check out the article Get more done with multitasking in Windows.
