If you use a single monitor, your computer screen can quickly become cluttered with overlapping windows, messy browser tabs, and multiple applications. Managing this chaos can significantly slow down your productivity. Windows 11 solves this problem with its powerful “Task View” feature, which allows you to create multiple Virtual Desktops.
Virtual Desktops act like entirely separate, clean monitors. You can use one desktop exclusively for your work applications (like Excel and Outlook), a second desktop for personal web browsing, and a third desktop for music or messaging apps. This allows you to compartmentalise your tasks without needing to buy a physical second monitor.
How to Create a New Virtual Desktop
Windows 11 makes accessing and creating virtual workspaces incredibly simple, as the feature is built directly into the taskbar.
- Look at your taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Locate the Task View icon, which looks like a square overlapping another transparent square. (If you cannot see it, right-click the taskbar, select Taskbar settings, and toggle Task View on).
- Click the Task View icon. Your current windows will shrink, and a panel will appear at the bottom of the screen showing your current desktop (labelled “Desktop 1”).
- Click the large + New desktop button located to the right of your current desktop.
- A new workspace labelled “Desktop 2” will be created. Click on it to switch to your brand-new, completely empty desktop environment.
How to Quickly Switch Between Desktops
While you can switch environments by clicking the Task View icon and selecting a different desktop, using keyboard shortcuts is vastly more efficient and allows you to seamlessly jump between workspaces without interrupting your flow.
To instantly switch to the desktop on the right, press: Ctrl + Windows Key + Right Arrow
To switch back to the desktop on the left, press: Ctrl + Windows Key + Left Arrow
If you are using a laptop with a precision touchpad, you can also swipe left or right with four fingers to glide between your virtual desktops instantly.
How to Move an Open Application to Another Desktop
If you open a program on your main workspace and realise it belongs on your secondary desktop, you do not need to close and reopen it.
- Click the Task View icon on your taskbar (or press Windows Key + Tab) to enter the overview mode.
- Hover your mouse over the desktop containing the application you want to move. Your open windows for that desktop will appear on the main screen.
- Right-click the window you want to move.
- Hover over Move to in the context menu, then select the destination desktop (e.g., Desktop 2) from the list.
- Alternatively, you can simply click and drag the window directly onto the target desktop thumbnail at the bottom of the screen.
How to Customise and Close Virtual Desktops
To help you organise your spaces better, you can rename your desktops and give them distinct visual themes.
Open Task View and right-click on a desktop thumbnail at the bottom of the screen. Select Rename to give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Work”, “Gaming”, “Editing”). You can also select Choose background from the right-click menu to assign a unique wallpaper to that specific desktop, making it visually obvious which environment you are currently using.
When you are finished with a project and no longer need the extra workspace, open Task View and hover over the desktop thumbnail. Click the X in the top-right corner of the thumbnail to close it. Any applications that were open on that desktop will not be closed; they will simply be transferred to your remaining active desktop.