Virtual Desktops: useful?

[CaptainPinko]

does anyone actually find haveing more than one virtual desktop useful (unless you have more than one monitor of course...)? the only think i use it for is programs that exit when there window is closed so i leave them open on another desktop then the one i work on... seems like a cool little idea of litte use... any comments anyone?

[Hayl]

have a main desktop that i use for browing.

l have a secondary one that i use for two terminals that i always have open (local terminal and ssh to my server) - i also load giFT on my secondary desktop.

i have Gaim or AMSN (whichever is my flavour of the week for instant messaging) set to omipresent (on all desktops)

i have irssi (irc client) se to omnipresent

i occasionally start a third of fourth desktop but only for apps that i want to use in nearly full screen - like word processors, html editors, etc.

(see screnshot link for my 2 desktops)

[Dun'kalis]

On one desktop, I've got Kate open with a few source files in it. The second desktop has a Konqueror open with documentation. The third one has this Konqueror open, along with XMMS and Gaim. Its very useful, no shuffling windows around.

Also good to note I almost always have a Konsole window stickied so I have access to my terminals.

[ECartman]

once you get accustomed to using them, multiple desktops will become more useful

[hlrguy]

I could not work without them. I have 6, all named and bring up ~20 apps full time while working. Spread accross all the desktops. It is literally like having 4-10 monitors you flip through.

After I tought my wife to use them (She was Windows forever till recently), she was blown away. She is used to cluttered single desktop and because of it, was a do one thing, close, do another thing, close, etc. She is intrigued with a Music desktop, an OpenOffice desktop, a web suring and email desktop, a PDA/Digital Camera desktop. :)

hlrguy

[MxCl]

I should think most people use multiple desktops. I used to have 8, but I would get lost (!) so I now use 6, and really could do with more, it makes me many times more productive.

I should think you will start to find them useful, but of course, maybe not.

[AdaHacker]

Well, it took me a little while to get used to them, but I find multiple desktops much easier to manage tasks with than one of those semi-useless tasklists. You can organize windows more easily, you never have the tasklist entires shrinking too small to read, and you don't have to minimize everything just to use a desktop icon.

I use four workspaces, organized by task (work, web/e-mail, games, and multimedia), each with four viewports. I have a pager to keep track of everything, keybindings to switch between workspaces/viewports, and matched windows so that most everything opens on the correct workspace automatically. Everything is organized without much work and I never run out of space on the desktop. It works out quite nicely.

[ViMan]

Virtual desktops are great. Once you get used to them you can't live without. Even if you're forced to use windows, download a freeware virtual desktop manager and use that.

[Stween]

I always use at least three of the four desktops normally available to me by default in fluxbox, and using the mouse wheel anywhere on the desktop (ie: outside of an application) is brilliant.

I'll normally have a terminal and source files open in emacs on one desktop, web brower (phoenix/mozilla) and gaim open on another, a terminal or two open in a third desktop (possibly along with either gtcd or xmms), and then the fourth is just for whatever I don't want cluttering the other desktops (a download manager sometimes sits there).

Everything on one desktop is just too irritating for me these days :)

[Saptech]

Yes I like to have at least 4 desktops and have use for them.

[Hena]

Definedly yes. I used to have 6 ad work, but had to change that yo 8. 6 weren't enough. At the moment is like this:
1: For work, running 2-3 browser windows for one project. Plus occasional terminal for writing.
2: Kate for scripting, c and java
3: Another with browsers for another project
4: Clear to see that nice background :D
5: Editor and one browser window from yeasterday... (mebbe i should "clean" this desktop....)
6: My favored linux sites open alltime. This is being written in work *hum,hum* :D.
7: Desktop for various non-work related web pages. Movies/slashdot/news etc.
8: E-mail. Kmail running full screen. Also might have some e-mailed links from web.

Couldn't fit that in one desktop. No way.

[mrBen]

Can't live without them. Most often I use 4:

1. GAIM / Sylpheed / 1 Terminal
2. Opera
3. Bluefish
4. GIMP + another terminal

It's those moments when you realise that you want to have 3 apps in the foreground, but on a single desktop environment, you'd have to alt+tab/click on each one of those three to bring them to the foreground (using The GIMP under Windows is a bit tricky because of this), whereas in Fluxbox, I just hit Alt+Fx and jump straight to a desktop with those apps opened.

[The Elf]

I think it's a preference thing. My sister makes use of them, probably couldn't live without them. I on the other hand, tend to ignore their existance. I run usually 8 things most at a time, and there's plenty of space in the kde bar (gnome bar, etc..) for the status thingy to have 8 programs in it. So, I find it just as easy to use that. I don't care about the fact that I see my background once in a blue moon either..

[ViMan]

I know this might not be that appropriate a question (since it's Windows-related), but what software do you use under Windows to allow you to use virtual desktops? I'm sure that I'm not the only linux fan here forced to run Windows at times. I'm currently using VDesk but I don't really like it.

[The Elf]

For windows XP at least, MS has a power toys download w/virtual desktops included.

[anmaxp]

could'nt live without 'em.

Just try to have Xemacs for c/c++ programing, a terminal for compiling/running your current app, a browser when you need a little help from the nice folks at linuxnewbie.org ;) , gaim, xmms and whatever else you run on a single desktop...

sure, you can do it, but just see how much faster you work managing different desktops!!

[CaptainPinko]

well its been almost a month and i'm still not all about the virtual desktops... tho i miss the windows system tray so i could clsoe the window and not have it on my taskbar but still have it running, Kopete [ http://kopete.kde.org ] goes into you taskbar but if you close the main window it exits :rolleyes:

[fancypiper]

I run 6 and 5 of them are usually occupied with windows.

[TheManThatCan't]

Hi folks,

Does anybody know if its possible to make an app start in a particular vdesktop, I use kde and the 'store settings' in the window settings works for some windows and saves the vdesktop position but not for others.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[viperlin]

i have a similar question
i wouldnt' mind having certain apps load on a specified virtual desktop

i use fluxbox with 6 virual desktops named (in order)
Main gaim and phoenix and terminals
Admin administrating my webserver
GAdmin using graphical admin stuff (like mozilla over ssh)
Mail mozilla mail
Multimedia xmms and sometimes a terminal with ogg123 or mpg123
File Manager nautilus open as 8 seconds load time is too slow for me

[dungscooperdave]

Also, how does one create a new virtual desktop? I've only seen systems that use four. How could I reduce that to like two or three or increse it to like six or eight?

[TheManThatCan't]

If its KDE your using right click on the vdesktop buttons on the panel and select preferences, it should become obvious what to do next, not sure about other wm's.

[dungscooperdave]

Duh. I should have thought of that. Thanks :D.