How to switch desktops on a Windows 10 computer and organize your activities on multiple virtual desktops

by
https://static.businessinsider.sg/2019/11/11/5dc34a413afd375e6927725a.jpg
You can switch between desktops on your Windows 10 computer to make multitasking easier.Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Windows 10 lets you create multiple desktops and switch between them with a couple of clicks. This way, you can work on several different projects at once without feeling cluttered or mixing windows and apps of unrelated activities.

Not only can you switch among different desktops, but you can also easily move open windows from one desktop to the other.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 (From $134.99 at Best Buy)

Lenovo IdeaPad (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

How to switch desktops in Windows 10

1. Click the “Task View” button in the taskbar. You can also press the Windows key + “Tab” on your keyboard.

https://static.businessinsider.sg/2019/11/11/5dd6dab5fd9db27a367a1866.jpg
Click the “Task View” button.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

2. Click the Task View button to see your desktops, open programs, and history of programs you’ve recently used.

3. At the top of the screen, you will see all your current virtual desktops. Hover your cursor over a desktop to see the programs and tabs currently open in that window.

4. Click the desktop you want to switch to, or click “New Desktop” to open a new, blank virtual desktop. The virtual desktops appear at the top of the screen, above the history of programs you’ve used.

https://static.businessinsider.sg/2019/11/11/5dd6dae4fd9db2775e41ef79.jpg
Above are the desktops you can select or the option to create a new desktop.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

5. Below the desktops, you can see a history of all the programs and windows you have used. As you scroll down the list, you go further into the past. You can re-open a window just by clicking it.

6. Also, you can quickly switch between desktops without going into “Task View” by pressing “CTRL” + the Windows key + the right arrow key or “CTRL” + Windows key + left arrow key on your keyboard.

How to move a window from one desktop to another in Windows 10

If you are using a window on one desktop but would like it to be in a different desktop, you can easily transfer it.

1. Click the “Task View” icon in the taskbar. You can also press the Windows key + “Tab” on your keyboard.

2. Hover your cursor over the desktop. When you see the window you want to move, click and drag the window to the other desktop and release it. You’ve now moved it between desktops.

https://static.businessinsider.sg/2019/11/11/5dd6db12fd9db277af09c4b2.jpg
Using your mouse, drag the window over to the desktop you want to switch it to.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

You can drag windows between desktops to re-organize which windows share a desktop.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech: