The virtual desktops feature gets a makeover in Windows 11. Here’s how to organize and customize them in Microsoft’s next-gen OS.
Want to keep your work email and Word documents separate from the games you play after hours? In Windows, you can turn to virtual desktops, which seal off groups of apps, making them easier to manage. Introduced in Windows 10 with the built-in Task View button on the taskbar, the feature has been revamped for Windows 11. Gone is the Windows timeline that showed your recent activity; in its place is the much sleeker and simpler Desktops icon. View Your Virtual Desktops You can manage your desktops by clicking the Desktops icon on the taskbar—it looks like two gray squares—which will display all your open programs and any virtual desktops you have created. (Or use the Win + Tab shortcut.) Windows 11 also has a rollover feature that lets you hover over the Desktops icon to view existing desktops, reorder them, and create new ones. Create New Desktops To create a new desktop, click the New desktop button and a new desktop will be added to the list. (Or use the keyboard shortcut Win + Ctrl + D.) The new desktop will be empty, but any open programs you were using are still open on the previous desktop.
