Switch Between Virtual Desktops in Windows 10

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How to Switch Between Virtual Desktop in Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a useful feature called Task View. It allows having virtual desktops, which the user can use to organize apps and open windows. It is possible to move windows between virtual desktops to arrange them in a useful way. In this post, we will review two methods you can use to switch between your virtual desktops in Windows 10.

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.

Finally, Windows 10 has received an option to rename a virtual desktop.

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. See

Rename a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10

You can switch between virtual desktops using the Task View user interface or with a global keyboard shortcut (hotkey). Let's review these methods.

To Switch Between Virtual Desktops in Windows 10,

  1. Click on the Task View button in the taskbar.
  2. Alternatively, press Win + Tab to open the Task View.
  3. Create a new virtual desktop if required.
  4. In the Task View, hover over the virtual desktop thumbnail preview you want to switch to. You will see a preview of that desktop.
  5. Click on the thumbnail preview to switch to the virtual desktop.

You are done.

Also, you can switch to another virtual desktop with a hotkey.

To Switch The Active Virtual Desktop with a Keyboard Shortcut,

  1. Press Win + Ctrl +  to switch to the next virtual desktop at the right.
  2. Press Win + Ctrl +  to switch to the previous virtual desktop at the left.
  3. The current virtual desktop will be changed to another available virtual desktop.

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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.

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