Desktop

One of the most important steps towards a more productive lifestyle is taking the time to organize your workspace in a way that prevents excess clutter or distractions from affecting your ability to focus on the task at hand.

When it comes to the digital environment, the concept of virtual desktops is regarded as one of the most accessible solutions, since it provides users with the ability to separate work projects from leisure activities. While Windows’ built-in hotkey combinations may suffice for some, dedicated third-party apps such as Desktop may come in handy for those with keyboard-based workflows.

Unlike other modern pieces of software, the program at hand does away with the quintessential graphical interface, instead, it relies on a specific set of commands that lets you access its entire feature set through the use of a terminal utility, in an attempt to prevent any possible learning curves that accompany many users who try to get accustomed to the developer’s usually unique app layout.

As a result, those who want to avoid Windows’ Task View when switching between desktops but also wish for more customization can easily trigger the desired actions by combining the appropriate commands. For instance, sometimes a project can go through multiple phases, and users with multi-monitor setups who want to make the most of their screen real estate can switch between the research app grid and the case study resources without minimizing windows to do so.

Group-based assignments may have to be tackled online, which is why the program allows you to pin a certain window such as the instant messaging client across all virtual desktops to stay in touch with the rest of the team while studying the topic, once its process ID is retrieved via the “views” command.

Whether you find the Windows Task View menu’s animation sluggish or non-intuitive to use, or you are on the lookout for handling most of the operating system’s functions via the command-line, Desktop may be useful given its portable form factor and incredibly lightweight footprint focused on the essentials.