WINDOWS
How to use multiple desktops on Windows 11
Real screenshot · Microsoft Cloud PC, Windows 11In short
Open Task view with the taskbar button or Windows + Tab and click New desktop at the bottom. Click a desktop tile to switch to it. Microsoft also lists Windows + Ctrl + D to create a desktop and Windows + Ctrl + Left or Right Arrow to switch.
If your taskbar looks like a crowded bus at rush hour, with the spreadsheet squeezed in next to the holiday booking, multiple desktops are the tidy answer. They let you keep separate sets of windows, for example one for work and one for private things. All your programs keep running. Only what you see changes.
The screenshots are our own, taken on Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 running as a Microsoft Cloud PC, a Windows PC that runs in the cloud.
6 of 6 steps show a real screenshot from our Microsoft Cloud PC.
Steps
- 1
Open Task view
Click the Task view button on the taskbar, next to the search box, or press Windows + Tab.
Your open windows appear above, and your desktops in a bar at the bottom.
- 2
Create a new desktop
Click New desktop, the empty tile with a plus, in the bar at the bottom. Microsoft lists Windows + Ctrl + D as the shortcut.
On our Cloud PC the bar then showed Desktop 1, Desktop 2 and a fresh New desktop tile.
- 3
Switch between desktops
In Task view, click the desktop tile you want, for example Desktop 1 or Desktop 2.
Microsoft lists Windows + Ctrl + Right Arrow or Left Arrow as the shortcut.
- 4
Name a desktop and give it its own background
In Task view, right-click a desktop tile and choose Rename or Choose background.
- 5
Move a window to another desktop
In Task view, right-click the window's thumbnail, choose Move to and then the desktop, for example Desktop 2.
On our Cloud PC the menu also lists Snap left, Snap right, Show this window on all desktops, Show windows from this app on all desktops and Close.
- 6
Close a desktop
In Task view, point at the desktop tile and click the x, which turns red. Its windows move to the neighbouring desktop; nothing is closed.
Microsoft lists Windows + Ctrl + F4 as the shortcut that closes the desktop you are using.
If you do not see this option
- There is no Task view button on the taskbar. Microsoft says Windows + Tab opens Task view too. To bring the button back, right-click the taskbar, choose Taskbar settings and switch on Task view under Taskbar items. Sources: Stay organized by using multiple desktops, Configure Multiple Desktops in Windows, Customize the Taskbar in Windows, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
- Choose background offers no slideshow or colour. Microsoft says a different background for each desktop is only possible with a picture, not a slideshow or a solid colour. Sources: Stay organized by using multiple desktops, Configure Multiple Desktops in Windows, Customize the Taskbar in Windows, Keyboard shortcuts in Windows
- Move to shows no other desktop. Create one first with New desktop. On our Cloud PC the Move to submenu listed Desktop 2 and New desktop, so you can also make a new desktop from there.
If this does not work
- The taskbar shows windows from the other desktops. That rather spoils the point of a tidy desktop. Microsoft says to open Settings, System, Multitasking, expand Desktops and set On the taskbar, show all the open windows to Only on the desktop I'm using.
- Alt + Tab shows windows from every desktop. In the same Desktops section, Microsoft says Show all open windows when I press Alt+Tab chooses all desktops or only the one you are using.
- A window appears on every desktop. That window has been told to follow you everywhere. Right-click its thumbnail in Task view and check Show this window on all desktops and Show windows from this app on all desktops; both are in the menu on our Cloud PC.
Good to know
The desktops stay after a restart, but the programs have to be opened again. Windows remembers the rooms, not who was sitting in them.
On one desktop, Snap layouts arrange windows side by side: how to split the screen on Windows 11.
On our Cloud PC, a window we had moved to Desktop 2 came back to Desktop 1 when we closed Desktop 2.
About this guide
- Device
- Windows
- Shown on
- Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 (build 26200.9457), Microsoft Cloud PC
- Real screenshots
- 6 of 6 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 4 official, linked below
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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