Ask Slashdot: How Do You Organize Your Virtual Desktops?

hyphenistic writes: As a programmer I find myself switching between multiple projects on a daily basis. Virtual desktops have been a big help in grouping my related programs together. I try to have a virtual desktop open for each project I'm working on. Although I've used Linux in the past my currently preferred desktop OS is Windows 10. For the most part I have found the new virtual desktops to be easy to use. My primary issue (regardless of OS) is that I really don't want my virtual desktops to interact with each other. In the past I have accomplished this with a separate login for each project but that brings the hassle of managing multiple sets of OS and application preferences. Can someone suggest a better method for organizing my virtual desktops?

Comments

Easy, just stop procrastinating

[netsavior]

You are falling victim to a classic problem. You don't want to do the actual work, so instead you focus on instrumentation and environment. The fact that you are asking these questions is proof that the "virtual desktop" mania you have embarked on is more of a hindrance than a help.

I mean, procrastination is half the fun, but don't fool yourself.

Re:Easy, just stop procrastinating

[TeknoHog]

I don't get the problem either. I like to use virtual screens a lot so I can focus on one thing at a time, and I often have just one or two windows per screen. A project might be spread over several desktops, for example due to having a single Emacs session for everything. I think a single monitor with multiple virtual screens actually helps me focus better than trying to see everyhting at once. This is one reason why the whole desktop metaphor is stupid.

Re: Easy, just stop procrastinating

[jambox]

Yeah I use them but only as an additional level of alt+tab. Ctrl+shift+left => workspace 1, Ctrl+shift+right => workspace 2 and COMMS (browser, email, chat)

Re:Easy, just stop procrastinating

[gstoddart]

Came here wondering who in the world uses virtual desktops?

Seriously? Because I've used virtual desktops since I fist discovered them in Linux in 1993, and as soon as I found the Windows Powertools or VirtuaWin I've always had them in Windows as well. In 1993 when the machine I had could a bunch of things in Linux when the exact same hardware would thrash in Windows, virtual desktops were awesome. I could have my desktop for coding, the one for FTP sessions, the one for the web browser. I remember using SLIP and having four terminal windows open for my school stuff.

Once you get used to them, the idea of having everything on one desktop feels moronic and cluttered. I don't want to go hunting for my window, and I tend to stay in one window (or set of windows) for a while at a time.

I don't close programs. I open them, and keep them open for days (if not weeks) at a time, and I keep them in separate desktops. I don't want to waste my time opening it, and I don't want it cluttering my view when I don't need it.

Hell, I've got a dual 24" monitor setup (one of which is shared with my laptop with a KVM) and I still run 6 virtual desktops to keep it from being cluttered and annoying to work with. And I find when I'm stuck with a single desktop, it's a nuisance to find stuff -- in part because I'll have 15-20 Windows open.

I can't imagine not using virtual desktops, because they've been part of how I work for over 20 years.

My "normal" load on my personal desktop is 3 different web browsers (for separate things and different levels of trust), 2-3 different VMs, iTunes, about 4 Windows Explorer windows, the software for my GPS, and occasionally my photo organizing software or my backups running.

Re:Multiple desktops for OS X?

[dbosso]

Chech out totalspaces