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Windows Virtual Desktop Managers Compared

This article is under construction – screenshots etc. to come

Some requirements:

  • Must be fast, with little to no flicker.
  • Assignable hotkeys
  • Maintain topmost window focus (a given, right? Hardly)
  • Must be able to move windows to other workspaces, preferably via hotkey (another how-could-you-not-have-this feature)
  • N workspaces (although I really only use ~5)
  • Different backgrounds for each workspace*
  • Free is good, but every one I’ve tried so far is shareware, so I’m cool shilling out some cash

* I use colors for backgrounds, as images (even small tiles) cause large amounts of slowing and flicker when switching with every single one of these apps

The Contenders

Microsoft’s Virtual Desktop Manager PowerToy

The gold standard weighs in at bug-free but feature-incomplete.

Pros

  • Medium-speed
  • Maintains topmost window focus

Cons

  • Can’t move apps to other desktops
  • Only four desktops
  • Doesn’t do special app behavior (i.e. “my mail app always goes on 3”) but not a big deal for me.

Virtual Desk

Cons

  • Quite possibly the ost annoying documentation ever. Flash dialogues drawn in paint saying “click here! click here”. People who need that spelled out arn’t going to use virtual desktops.
  • Not so fast, tons of flicker, and horribly slow w/ different desktop backgrounds (even small tiles)
  • Not going to bother with pros.

Chimera Virtual Desktop Manager

Pros

  • Fast. Probably the fastest.
  • “Window preview” on taskbar item click or hotkey is sweet. Shows outlines + names of all the apps on different screens. [[SCREENSHOT]]
  • Lots of options regarding window behavior — i.e. “strict seperation of desktops,” autosend, sticky windows, and you can even lock down certain desktops.

Cons

  • Must move windows to other desktops using a right-click on the menu title -> Send to Desktop… that doesn’t appear for all applications. Huge bummer.
  • Goofy non-standard UI widgets

GoScreen

Pros

  • Fast, relatively flicker free
  • Infinitely customizable & hotkeyable
  • Able to move windows around workspaces (finally)
  • Window Map showing all workspaces & their windows with drag & drop support for moving between — cool
  • ‘Follow Me’ feature is badass — click and hold the titlebar of an application and switch workspaces for it to come with you. Way better than a “send to workspace” followed by a “switch to workspace.”
  • More customizing: I made the Window Map only appear when I press alt-esc, or when I go towards my right-mounted taskbar while holding alt — cool.

Cons

  • Often loses topmost window focus
  • Bad documentation, and less than stellar UI design — a really bad combo. Hard to find lots of preferences.
  • Default setup is less than ideal.

Super X Desktop

Pro

  • Fast.

Cons

  • Can’t change hotkeys
  • Can’t move apps
  • DOA

Vern

Pros

  • Really pimp pager allows drag & drop between workspaces
  • Pretty much feature complete – hotkeys, sticky windows, protect workspace, the works
  • Maintains window focus

Cons

  • Not the of the bunch
  • No hold-tab-switch-workspace-bring-with like goScreen
  • Backgrounds can be set per-workspace… using bitmap images. Very Windows 95.
  • Less than stellar documentation + options w/ strange names = trouble

The Conclusion

goScreen. Vern is a close 2nd.

I first switched from Vern back to goScreen for the per-workspace, non-BMP background images, but I’ve sacrificied my lovely patterns in favor of speedier solid colors. I switch back and forth between the two pretty frequently, unable to decide. I love Vern’s BeOS-esque pager, but goScreen’s window map gets the job done, and it’s faster. Vern has better topmost window focus support, though, which might be a switcher eventually. Not sure if Vern does goScreen’s “click and hold titlebar while switching workspaces to take to new workspace” feature though.

Mac OS X

As a vocal virtual desktop advocate I’ve gotten some questions about an app for the Mac. On my Powerbook I use Virtue which is light, quick, and feature complete. Avoid the no-longer-developed DesktopManager and slowish CodeTek Virtual Desktop.

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