Rename a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10

Task View

How to Rename a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10

Windows 10 has an interesting feature called Task View. It allows the user to have virtual desktops, which the user can use to manage apps and open windows. It is possible to move windows between virtual desktops to arrange them in a useful way. Finally, Windows 10 has received an option to rename a virtual desktop.

The new option is available starting in Windows 10 build 18963. Prior to this update, virtual desktops were simply named "Desktop 1", "Desktop 2", and so on. Finally, you can give them  meaningful names like "Office", "Browsers", etc.

Windows 10 includes the virtual desktops feature, also known as Task View. For users of Mac OS X or Linux, this feature is not spectacular or exciting, but for casual PC users who have used Windows only since eternity, it is a step forward. The ability to have multiple desktops exists in Windows since Windows 2000 at the API level. Several third party apps have used those APIs to provide virtual desktops, but Windows 10 has made this feature available out-of-the-box in a useful way.

The ability to rename virtual desktop was first spotted in Windows build 18922, however, it was a hidden feature. Windows 10 build 18963 includes this feature out of the box, so you can start using it immediately without apply a hack.

To Rename a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10,

  1. Click on the Task View button in the taskbar.
  2. Alternatively, press Win + Tab to open the Task View.
  3. Click on the name of the Virtual Desktop you want to rename.
  4. Or, right-click on the virtual desktop thumbnail preview and select Rename from the context menu.
  5. Type a new name you want to assign to this virtual desktop.

You are done!

Note: You need to have at least two virtual desktops to be able to rename them. By default, Windows 10 only includes a single desktop. The task view allows adding more with the "+ New Desktop" button.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

8 thoughts on “Rename a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10”

  1. I briefly came back to windows and was amazed about how many good things have finally happened. I just wanted to rename the virtual desktop and ofcourse even though I have the newest version it’s not possible for me, why? no one knows…

  2. Neither of these work for me, but then I realized that I’m on a build that’s older than the one you mentioned (I’m on 18362 rather than 18963). Time to upgrade. Thanks for this article. :)

  3. It is not working for me either. I am using WIN 10 Enterprise / 1909 / 18363.1139. I was hoping to be able to use the “rename” for my “virtual” desktops

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