Hardware

Five Virtual Desktop Managers for Windows

By · November 7, 2012, 2:51 AM PST

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  • Sysinternals Desktops 2.0

    This gallery is also available as a post in the Five Apps Blog.

    Users of Unix and Linux are probably very used to virtual desktops; they've been present in the GUIs for those operating systems for a long time.  Windows users, however, have been stuck with a single desktop - unless they use something like one of these five addons.

    The first selection is Desktops from Sysinternals, a Microsoft brand.  Desktops is a very simple implementation whose strongest feature is the on screen quick preview of the possible four desktops.

    Screenshot of Desktops interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • Sysinternals Desktops 2.0

    Desktops's configuration screen is very simple - choose the shortcut key combination to switch between the desktops and set it to run automatically at logon.

    Screenshot of Desktops interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • Dexpot

    Dexpot is next on the list.  It allows for up to 20 desktops and has a full screen desktop selector that also allows you to drag and drop applications and windows from one desktop to another.

    Screenshot of Dexpot interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • Dexpot

    Dexpot's settings screen has many more options than Desktops's.  Here you can change the number of desktops, the appearance of those desktops, and shortcut key combinations, among other settings.

    Screenshot of Dexpot interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • Finestra

    Finestra has an unlimited number of desktops and, like Dexpot, allows you to drag and drop applications and windows from one desktop to another.  The coolest part of Finestra, though, is the ability to drag an application or window to the edge of the screen and have the application jump to the next or previous desktop.  The jump is preceded by a half or full second wait timer symbolized by this unique wait cursor.

    Screenshot of Finestra interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • Finestra

    Finestra also has a fairly large set of options for configuration, including appearance, hotkeys, and which monitors you want it to consider when populating desktops.

    Screenshot of Finestra interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • goScreen

    goScreen does away with the full screen preview and instead replaces it with a sidebar that is docked on the left of the screen by default but is configurable and closeable.  Instead of showing the actual application or window, goScreen simply displays the icon and window title.  The user can still drag and drop applications between desktops and clicking on a desktop will activate that desktop.  Also, clicking on an application will display it's parent desktop and bring that application to the foreground.

    Screenshot of goScreen interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • goScreen

    goScreen also has a vast set of configurable options that is similar in scope to the previous two.

    Screenshot of goScreen interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • VirtuaWin

    VirtuaWin is our last selection.  VirtuaWin brings the featureset back down to a minimum - no graphical representation of the desktops and windows - instead having a simple window that allows you to click on the window you would like to switch to, move to this desktop, or always show no matter which desktop you're on.  The number next to the application or window symbolizes the desktop is is currently housed on.  VirtuaWin 's simplicity is by design; instead of adding a bunch of features most users would not use, VirtuaWin instead relies upon addon modules to extend its functionality.  There are a list of available modules on the VirtuaWin website.

    Screenshot of VirtuaWin interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

  • VirtuaWin

    There are noticibly fewer options available on VirtuaWin's setup screen, but it still has many popular options including: configurable desktop count, hotkeys, and mouse control configuration.

    Screenshot of VirtuaWin interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

Sysinternals Desktops 2.0

This gallery is also available as a post in the Five Apps Blog.

Users of Unix and Linux are probably very used to virtual desktops; they've been present in the GUIs for those operating systems for a long time.  Windows users, however, have been stuck with a single desktop - unless they use something like one of these five addons.

The first selection is Desktops from Sysinternals, a Microsoft brand.  Desktops is a very simple implementation whose strongest feature is the on screen quick preview of the possible four desktops.

Screenshot of Desktops interface by Wally Bahny for TechRepublic

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