To continue the theme from last week’s post about handy-dandy OS Tools, I’d like to talk about VirtuaWin. This wonderful and simple open source (and free) application will put the power of virtual desktops at your fingertips. There are other virtual desktop options out there, but this one is my favorite.
The VirtuaWin website explains the application pretty well, but let me explain the usefulness of virtual desktops if you aren’t familiar with them. A virtual desktop is a great way to organize your screen real estate. What I tend to do is run AutoCAD and Explorer project folders on one desktop (“Applications”), and run Thunderbird (email) and Firefox (web) on another desktop (“Communications”). What that means is that all of the applications that I’m not interested in at the moment are hidden – they don’t show up on the taskbar or anywhere. It greatly reduces clutter and keeps things organized.
I’m not talking about multiple physical monitors here – virtual desktops are just that, virtual. But they are like having multiple monitors, you just can’t see both of them at once. With VirtuaWin, you can set up hotkeys (I use Windows+>) or right-click on the VirtuaWin icon in your tray to switch to the next or previous virtual desktop. I also have a hotkey setup to move windows from one virtual desktop to another (Windows+<). Left-clicking on the VirtuaWin tray icon allows you pull windows from hidden desktops to your current one. It’s very flexible, fast, and simple.
I think VirtuaWin installs with a default of four virtual desktops, but I find that two are sufficient. It is easy to configure this setting.
Give it a shot!
Great tool, rockmaster! I run a MacBook Pro, which has a similar feature called “Spaces.” I run VMWare Fusion with a Windows XP virtual machine (for Civil 3D), and place it in another “space.”