Windows 7: Virtual desktop Management

By Jay Allen

One feature of Unix windowing systems that I cherish is the virtual desktop, which allows you to create multiple desktop work spaces each containing its own set of windows.

You can maintain separate work spaces for different work tasks, or for separate business functions – maintaining, for example, one desktop for productivity applications and a separate desktop for Web browsing and e-mail.

Windows XP supported virtual desktops with the Microsoft Virtual Desktop Power Toy. Sadly, the company hasn’t released compatible versions for either Windows Vista or Windows 7.

The good news is that an open source product called VirtuaWin picks up the slack, with only a few caveats for users running Windows 7.

VirtuaWin Hotkeys on Windows 7
After installation, VirtuaWin appears as an icon in your system tray. By default, it defines four desktops, with the active desktop color-coded on the icon.

Right-clicking the icon will display commands near the bottom of the context menu for selecting one of the four default desktops, or for navigating to the next or previous desktop.

This method of switching desktops is cumbersome. For the most part, you’ll want to navigate desktops using hotkeys.

VirtuaWin in the system tray

Aye, there’s the rub. VirtuaWin’s hotkey defaults won’t work on Windows 7.

VirtuaWin tries to assign CTRL+ALT+RightArrow, for example, to its Move Right function, which puts you on the next virtual desktop on your right. The CTRL+ALT+<Arrow> keys in Windows 7 are already used for changing screen orientation on tablets.

The first time you run VirtuaWin, you’ll get four message complaining that the software couldn’t assign its hotkeys.

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