Virtual Desktops / Screens for Windows 7? Need suggestions
 

Would like to have the same virtual desktop type feature that I have in Ubuntu where I can setup workspaces for each virtual desktop and not have to mess around with my windows so much.. I'm pretty OCD so it gets a little out of hand... ;)

Anyone use something like that? I'm in Windows 7.

I use Dexpot. It's a little quirky, but does the job.

I'm looking for an alternative to dexpot.
Thanks for the link. :)

Have you tried this with Windows 7? I'm going to have to test this out I think...

nice :thumbsup

Yep. Using it right now.

You can run it right of their Live server if you want to test it. http://live.sysinternals.com/desktops.exe

I have been using it for about a year now(I think), and never had a problem. It's great for server admin work, when working from your Notebook with no extra monitor.

I just uninstalled Dexpot and installed Desktops. Desktops much MUCH faster. Is there any way to customize each Desktop?

There is no Aero transparency on the second Desktop like there is on the first. Is this normal? Also, I can not open Chrome on more than one Desktop at the same time. I get a permissions error.

Dont know. Try the userforum on Sysinternals site. I use it out of the box, so I can switch between a "work" desktop and a "monitoring" desktop where the windows are arranged in a specific order.

You should be able to customize them individually, since its 4 seperate desktop instances it builds native. But I havent had the need for it myself, so I cant answer it.

Just played around a little to se how it worked. Looks like you cant. Same settings, but different instance.

It is not retaining my Desktop settings when I reboot either. There is also no way to move windows between desktops. I love how fast this app is, but it is pretty bare bones. I checked out the forum like you suggested and saw someone there suggest VirtuaWin. I'm going to try that and will report back.

http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/

Thx. If VirtuaWin is stable, it might be a better solution for those with your needs.

VirtuaWin rocks. Very stable and fast. Way better than Dexpot. No problems with opening up Chrome in more than one Desktop like there is with Desktops. Very customizable. So much so the menus get confusing (it is well documented). I would suggest installing the VMPreview module if you want to see all your desktops at the same time.

If you are looking for something quick, dead simple and stable use Desktops.

If you want to tweak and customize everything to meet you specific needs then try VirtuaWin.

My :2 cents:

Thanks for the added input Ether, I'm trying out Desktops right now. I also noticed that if you open IE in a window other than 1, it won't load websites, or at least some websites.. You type in a URL and hit enter and nothing happens.

It's a bit quirky, and it's weird, but I noticed it helps me focus a LOT more.. I can keep unproductive things in one window and forget about them for a long time, and stick to one thought for each screen I'm in to focus better.

I'll keep this one going for a few weeks I figure and then maybe try out VirtuaWin. I've tried a StarDock product before and thought it was a bit weird, I forget which.

Sure, I hope it helped. I'm loving VirtuaWin. I may not have found it if not for this thread. I agree that these Virtual Desktops really help with focus and productivity. I'm still tweaking VirtuaWin. I want to get it so that my "work" Desktops do not have any distractions visible (e.g. remove taskbar and start menu and only show necessary icons on desktop). Just what I need for the task at hand. I may set up different "work" Desktops for different tasks.