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Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager

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Introduction

Vista provides developers with the new DWM based aero interface. A new set of thumbnail API's can be used to access some of this new technology. This virtual desktop program takes advantage of this new API and uses some tricks of its own to provide a powerful virtual desktop manager with a full screen thumbnail based preview. You can have as many desktops as you want and can seamlessly switch between them.

But wait! What if you still are using XP? Don't worry, Vista/XP Virtual Desktops provides support for XP as well, although window previews are not live since XP doesn't have DWM.

Vista Virtual Desktops is managed by Z-Systems. The Z-Systems website also has a Vista Virtual Desktop page.

Awards

Up to Down Software
Up to Down Software (Spanish)

Download.hr - 5 Star Editor's ReviewDownload.hr - Clean Software
Download.hr

Features

  • Full screen desktop/window manager/preview with full drag and drop managing
  • Desktop switch indicator
  • An infinite number of desktops
  • Watch the windows move in real time as you drag them around in the window manager
  • Multiple monitor support
  • Window menus
  • Tray icons for each desktop
  • Per-desktop backgrounds
  • Configurable colors, fade speeds, hotkeys, etc.
  • Uses Vista's live thumbnails
  • XP support
  • And much more!
  • Roadmap/Change Log
  • The Hack

Default Shortcut Reference

  • Windows Key + Z - Show the fullscreen "switcher"
  • Windows Key + W - Pop up the window menu for the active window
  • Windows Key + Numpad 1...9 - Switch to the corresponding desktop, if it exists
  • Windows Key + Arrow Keys - Move to the corresponding desktop
  • Windows Key + Control + Numpad 1...9 - Send the foreground window to the corresponding desktop

Current Release - 0.8

The seventh release, 0.8, is marked as a release candidate version. However, it could easily have been marked as a production release. Most likely the next release will be 1.0, a big milestone for this project. If you notice any bugs, please post them on the issue tracker section of this site. Any feature requests can be posted either in the issue tracker or in the discussion forum.
Last edited Apr 5 at 7:40 PM  by zhuman, version 36
Comments
Blackwolf wrote  Aug 26 2007 at 9:25 AM  
This is not really a bug, but more of an annoyance: I use the language bar because I work w/ three different languages. When switching between windows using the fullscreen "switcher" the language bar becomes 6x bigger and shows on every window. Not sure if you can do anything about it.

My setup: Vista. Using Sidebar, but have moved all the widgets to the desktop and actually closed the popout sidebar. No icons on the desktop. Have multiple toolbars - one at the top, one on the right side - on my desktop. Language bar I usually have set to float at the top of my desktop edge. Using Trillian Pro (my IM client) as a popout for the left side of my desktop.

Another feature that would be nice, would be the ability to switch desktops by pushing your mouse to the top, left, right, or bottom edge of the screen, and after a configurable delay or a double-right click, having the window automatically switch to the next window.

In line with the feature above, having the ability to use window "wrapping" would be nice too. If you are on the right most window, and you move your mouse to the right most edge and wait or double right click, then you should now move to the left most window.

Thanks for a great beta! I'm really enjoying it!

dorreen wrote  Aug 27 2007 at 11:02 PM  
One feature that I would find particularly useful would be the ability to have different backgrounds on each desktop. This way it is easier to differentiate among them.

zhuman wrote  Aug 31 2007 at 8:27 PM  
dorreen: Limited support for multiple desktop backgrounds was available in 0.4.1 and 0.5 now has full support.

Blackwolf: These features will probably make it into a future release. Maybe 0.6, otherwise 0.7.

nlee wrote  Sep 12 2007 at 4:57 PM  
When I try launching the 0.5 release on XP (sp2) I get an immediate crash / error: "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135)." Am I missing a system requirement or is this a bug?

zhuman wrote  Sep 16 2007 at 1:52 PM  
Yes, you are missing the .NET Framework 2.0. You can find it in the optional updates of Windows Update, or you can download it from its page on the Microsoft Downloads site <http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en>. This framework is included with Windows Vista, so that's why I haven't put up instructions top download it yet. I'll add some now.

prock wrote  Sep 28 2007 at 3:49 PM  
It'd be great if you could expand the different background per desktop to also allow me to specific a different desktop per monitor.

xxdesmus wrote  Sep 30 2007 at 5:55 PM  
It would be great if you could have all 4 (or more) desktops in a single line...and then switch in a horizontal plane ( for example 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 instead of the of the 1 -2, 3 - 4 cube like right now).

submin wrote  Oct 7 2007 at 4:55 PM  
I get quite much .net framework overflow errors while changing windows..
And when i have putty with irssi open at some window and when i change back to that window, it would be nice if putty would be focused :)

ashridah wrote  Oct 10 2007 at 7:20 PM  
Hey. This program seems really nice, although it's a little clunky at times.

Couple of things i've noticed.
* Hotkeys. If there's a hotkey collision, can you give us a better idea of what hotkey IS colliding? it doesn't give much information sometimes.
* Easily switch windows between desktops. Being able to drag to the border is okay, but i'd love to be able to do what i used to do under linux, and hold win+shift+arrowleft/right and have whichever window has focus currently switch with my switch in virtual desktop. Just make it easier to push windows around initially, mostly.
* Some windows refuse to stay on the desktop they're put. While i first ran into this on some work we're doing internally, i noticed that the resource monitor does the same. Go to Control panel-> administrative tools->reliability and performance monitor, and notice that as you switch virtual desktops, it'll follow you.

Seems to be newer, WPF based stuff that's doing this (or something, i haven't looked too closely at what the deciding factor is yet)

Still, that said, awesome tool.

NiCd wrote  Oct 24 2007 at 2:48 PM  
I'm loving that someone is forging ahead to create a desktop manager for Vista, especialy using WPF! Bravo! I'm an intense deskop user... delving into graphics, tech support and daily communications, i'd love to have three distinct desktops to flip around to based on my 'mode' at that time, so this application makes perfect sense. Installing it, I discovered two issues... 1. I use dual monitors... that seems to mess with the QUAD arrangement...it'd be nice if some graphical representation for dual monitors could be integrated. Also, adobe photoshop cs3... when i switch from one virtual desktop to another, bits and pieces of the menu structure of photoshop are on every desktop. Weird! Otherwise, great work, looking forward to seeing future incarnations of this.

cbmlogix wrote  Oct 26 2007 at 3:09 PM  
Using version 0.6....Great tool, can only find one issue with it at the moment which really lets it down for my application... I'm runing Vista Utlimate and PC Anywhere 12.1 remote. I've configured PCAnywhere to run 4 remote conections in 4 different windows. When I use the virtual desktop (Windows & F9), it only shows static images. If I have 4 different applications with animation (1 session of PCA12.1, one media player, one PLC Programming Software and excel with macro changing colours of cells) then I see 4 live previews. I'm assuming that because when I use 4 PCA12.1 windows, because they are all PCA12.1 the software can not display live previews????
Anyone seen this issue and knows how to get around it... or am I just a numpty and have not set-up the virtual desktop correctly... Cheers... Buzz

Guest007 wrote  Nov 9 2007 at 7:27 AM  
in Vista, when I try to switch Desktop due to Start Menu opened I have artefact on the screen in place of right border of Start Menu (like shadow of the menu). Artefact gone only after REBOOT Vista!
0.6 RC

nitesh1632 wrote  Dec 1 2007 at 9:30 PM  
Where is the download link? Really bad site design.

ahmad wrote  Dec 2 2007 at 10:52 PM  
Is there any way that I can have different icons in the different virtual desktops. Just like the option for per-desktop background, I would like to know if there's a per-desktop icon display.

jpap wrote  Dec 20 2007 at 7:46 PM  
This desktop manager has so much potential---looking great for a RC.

Here are my suggestions after a short play:

* Option for Taskbar icons to remain for all applications on all desktops; that way clicking on one (to focus) will switch the desktop to the one where the application lives

* Organize the desktops in a MxN grid, where you select M and N; not just the total (M*N). I like 8 desktops---currently they are shown as a unsymmetrical list of desktops that wrap with length 3. I'd prefer a 2 (down) by 4 (across) grid.

* I'd love an option for a small/minimalist/resizable virtual desktop monitor that is always-on-top, and can be moved around the screen; that way I've always got an at-a-glance view of all desktops, and can easily switch desktops, and move windows around, using the mouse.

* I haven't tried multi-monitor support yet, though it is highly desired. What happens when, on a laptop, you move from multi-monitor to single-monitor mode? Ideally I'd like those orphaned windows to be moved onto the corresponding virtual desktops of the built-in monitor; doing so in an intelligent way (when the screens are of differing resolutions).

* Option to hide the Tray Icon altogether (esp if/when a monitor window is enabled as described above).

* Bug: I can't disable certain keyboard shortcuts: when I deselect all key modifiers, I get error messages on startup about an invalid key choice.

tzh1080 wrote  Dec 29 2007 at 7:44 AM  
Perfect,Thank you.

xcpilot wrote  Jan 4 at 11:48 PM  
Very nice; I agree with Blackwolf's suggestion regarding "the ability to switch desktops by pushing your mouse to the top, left, right, or bottom edge of the screen, and after a configurable delay or a double-right click, having the window automatically switch to the next window."

In fact, to me, visual space-switching queues are vital to intuitive workflow. No windows desktop manager yet has the ability to simply "slide over" visually to the next virtual space. Queuing via mouse proximity to the edge (or by any other method) and then seeing the desktop "slide" left or right to the next virtual space would really set this tool apart. Not just for a cute effect; it would keep the switching very intuitive for the geographically organized mind--just like swivelling one's chair left or right from one desk surface to another in the wood-and-metal world.

CodePlexPerson wrote  Jan 14 at 10:01 PM  
Is it just me, or does the per desktop backgrounds still not work (see my work item 4917)?

Rashid wrote  Feb 2 at 7:50 PM  
Plenty of good suggestions here, but I really agree with Ahmad - different icons on different desktops are what I want now. CodePlexPerson: have you rebooted? I could not get per desktop backgrounds working either, until a reboot...

slykidz wrote  Feb 10 at 9:53 AM  
Im using version 0.7 on vista ultimate but the multiple backgrounds still does not work even after a reboot.
1) if i run Dreamweaver cs3, it shows on all desktops.
2) Im using object dock and the docks appear in all desktops. I have set the folders in the dock to open in a menu. When i am on any desktop expect desktop 1, the menus do not work.

NadkU wrote  Feb 14 at 4:27 AM  
Here's a problem I'm noticing, not really a bug, bet kind of becomes an annoyance...

When you load a new application (ie firefox) and you don't wait for it to completely load, it doesn't load up on the VD you wanted, it loads on the one you switch too, also, it shows up in the alt-tab when its loading, so if switches back to a different VD.

CodePlexPerson wrote  Feb 14 at 6:11 AM  
Rashid: I did get it fixed. It required a reboot and a few other tweaks, but works perfectly now (look at my work item to see how).

CodePlexPerson wrote  Feb 14 at 6:12 AM  
slykidz: Check my work item, it might help.

dickelkin wrote  Mar 9 at 10:50 PM  
I am getting a .net unhandled exception error everytime I startup or use the switcher in the taskbar. The error is:

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.UpdateIcon(Boolean showIconInTray)
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.set_Icon(Icon value)
at VirtualDesktop.VirtualDesktopManager.set_CurrentDesktop(VirtualDesktop value)
at VirtualDesktop.Main.switchIcon_MouseClick(Object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.OnMouseClick(MouseEventArgs mea)
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button)
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.WndProc(Message& msg)
at System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon.NotifyIconNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Virtual Desktops
Assembly Version: 0.7.2876.31107
Win32 Version: 0.7.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Vista%20%26%20XP%20Virtual%20Desktops/Virtual%20Desktops.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0

aresando wrote  Mar 13 at 5:52 PM  
Hi... Started using that (wonderful) piece of software yesterday (I previously used a very old similar program dated 1996... which does not support my new 16:9 screen). I'm still on XP.

A few suggestions:
- remove the "show switcher windows + Z" entry in the tray context menu when the switcher is disabled (no key assigned)
- make desktop distribution more logical: example when the number of desktops is 8, why are there 3+3+2 desktops instead of 4+4, horizontally?
- maybe the switcher would be a bit more easy to read if the cellspacing between windows was a bit larger
- add an option to keep all opened applications in the taskbar; when this option is active, make the desktop manager automatically switch to the appropriate desktop when you click one of the applications (if the application has been minimized, just restore it to the current desktop). This would save a lot of keyboard manipulations to switch from one desktop to another and move windows from one desktop to another
- why *double*-click the mini-window in the switcher to switch to another desktop? wouldn't a single click be more simple?

two bugs, to finish:
- The list of windows in the taskbar seems to be randomly shuffled every time I get out and come back to a desktop where more than one window is open.
- When a Powerpoint 2007 document is opened on a desktop and I open a second one on a different desktop, it is not possible to move it to the same desktop as the first one. That seems to be related to the way Powerpoint 2007 deals with the different documents while trying to only display one button in the taskbar.

Thanks a lot, it's just great; I've been looking for something like this for years!

aresando wrote  Mar 13 at 6:03 PM  
xcpilot: you wrote: " No windows desktop manager yet has the ability to simply "slide over" visually to the next virtual space. "
My old desktop manager, vdesk32, does that. Dragging windows from one desktop to another also works. You can even move windows from within the switcher!

aresando wrote  Mar 13 at 6:06 PM  
Ha... another bug I forgot:
The "show the mini-preview window when the mouse moves over the main tray icon" doesn't work when the taskbar is not at the bottom of the window. My taskbar is usually located on the left, so when the option is active the mini-preview appears on top of the taskbar and I cannot click the tray icon anymore :-(
Just my two cents.

rickla wrote  Mar 14 at 12:21 AM  
I just like quick and simple, which this is. One thing that drives me crazy is it doesn't remember the last window focused on a desk so when you switch desktops and start typing, you end up typing on the window you just hid. I do it all the time, so it's a big one for me.

aresando wrote  Mar 20 at 6:16 PM  
Another bug: it seems not to remember when you uncheck "show indicator when switching" and restart the application: i.e next time you restart, the indicator is visible (still on XP SP2)

OrigamiMarie wrote  Mar 26 at 12:57 AM  
I have really been enjoying this program for a couple of months now. I love having the extra desktops when programming, it is so nice to be able to put code on one screen, compile on a second, run on a third, and documentation (read: troubleshoot by Google) on the fourth. I do wish for a couple of improvements, of course. I have noticed the same problem that aresando mentioned about saving when you uncheck "show indicator when switching" box. I figured out that if you uncheck this box and then manually close the program (instead of letting it be shut down at the end of the session), your preference will save properly and you won't have to uncheck that box again. I haven't bothered to figure out if the reverse situation is true. I am also annoyed by the focus problems. I like to pop between desktops with the keystrokes and quickly do one or two things on each (compile, then go refresh my browser with the program in it), and I can't just do it with keystrokes because the focus stays with the last window you touched. I can almost make do with Alt-Tab to get to the desired window, but often that does weird things to my window order instead. It would be really nice if the focus could automatically switch to the window you were on last time you saw this desktop. Oh and of course I will put in my vote for wanting the ability to mouse over to the next desktop just by moving off the edge of the screen. Though I'm not sure how that would interact with the tablet pen . . . oh well, it would be good to have it anyway. No need to have a graphics-intensive flashy "here's your screen going that way" system for me anyway, just "pop" you're there, with a little lag the second time to make sure you don't accidentally keep popping over would be nice. And is it just me, or are there only preview icons in the little switcher previewer for the windows on my current desktop? That isn't really very useful, since I know what programs I have where I am, but I'd like to see where I'm going. Oh yeah, I have of course used multiple desktops on Linux before, which is why I would drool over this even more if you could move windows from desktop to desktop by moving them in the little preview pane, but I imagine that would be tricky to make. Anyway, it is already very well worth using, and sorry about writing a comment the size of a small novel.

Nugs wrote  Mar 28 at 12:36 PM  
Thanks for the great program.
Just a lil quirk I found: when using Thunderbird 2.0.0.12, after composing and sending an email (from a seperate window), the window should automatically close. However, if you switch desktops when the email is sending the window doesn't automatically close and just goes white, unable to close without opening a