How to Create and Close a Desktop on Windows 11

Step 1Open Task View

Task View shows all your running windows as thumbnails, and it is where you manage your virtual desktops. There are two ways to open it. One is the keyboard shortcut. The other is the Task View button on the taskbar, which looks like two small overlapping squares.

How to open Task View:

1. Press the Win and Tab at the same time. Your open windows spread out as thumbnails, with a bar of desktops along the bottom of the screen on most current Windows 11 builds.
2. Or look at the taskbar🖥️ for the Task View button, the icon of two stacked squares, near the Start button⊞ and Search. By default it sits in the center of the taskbar. On newer builds the taskbar can also be placed at the top, left or right.
3. Hover over the button. The tooltip reads “Task view”. Click it to open the same screen.
4. To leave Task View without changing anything, press Esc.

That’s it. You now know both ways into Task View, and you can reach the desktop bar from either one.

Step 2Create a New Desktop

A new desktop gives you an empty workspace, so you can separate your open windows and keep things organized. You create one from inside Task View. Each extra desktop you add appears as its own preview in the desktop bar.

To make a new desktop:

1. Open Task View with Win+Tab.
2. Find the button labelled + New desktop. It sits in the desktop bar next to the small previews of your existing desktops.
3. Click + New desktop. A new preview is added to the bar.

That’s it. You now have an extra, empty desktop next to the one you were already using.

After you click, a new preview, most likely named “Desktop 2”, appears in the bar. This desktop is empty and ready for whatever programs you want to open on it. Your first desktop is untouched. It stays open with all its original apps, and nothing has moved or closed.

Clicking an existing desktop preview does not create anything new. It switches your view to that desktop. This is how you move between desktops you have already set up. To switch without opening Task View, press Ctrl+Win+← arrow or Right arrow.

Desktops get generic names, so a few of them can be hard to tell apart. You can rename and customize each one from its preview in Task View.

1. Open Task View with Win+Tab.
2. Right-click the preview of the desktop you want to change. A menu opens.
3. Choose the option to rename the desktop, then type a name such as “Work” or “Personal” and press Enter.
4. To give that desktop its own look, right-click the preview again and choose the option to pick a different desktop background.
5. To change the order of your desktops, right-click the preview once more and move it left or right.

That’s it. Your desktops now have clear names, and each can have its own background and position in the bar.

Step 3Add Apps to Your New Desktop

To put apps on a new desktop, switch to it and open the programs you want there. Each desktop keeps its own set of open windows, so different projects or tasks stay completely separate.

This works best when you launch the apps from the new desktop itself. Say you create a desktop for work. Open your email program or project management software while you are on that desktop, and not on another one. That way each task has its apps in one place and you can find them quickly.

1. Open Task View and click the preview of your new desktop (for example “Desktop 2”). The screen switches to that empty desktop.
2. Open any apps you want to use on this desktop, the same way you normally would, from the Start menu⊞, the taskbar🖥️ or a shortcut. Each app opens on the desktop you are viewing.

That’s it. The apps you opened now belong to this desktop, and your other desktops are unchanged.

By default, these apps show up only on this desktop. Other desktops won’t list them on their taskbar. If you open Task View on another desktop, you won’t see these windows there. One exception: if an app is already open on another desktop, launching it again may take you back to that existing window instead of opening a new one.

You can change how the taskbar and Alt+Tab treat windows from other desktops. Go to Settings › System › Multitasking › Desktops. There you can choose whether taskbar apps and Alt+Tab show windows from all desktops or only the desktop you are using. If windows from other desktops appear on your taskbar, or none do when you expect them, check this setting first.

Step 4Close a Desktop

When you no longer need a desktop, you can close it from Task View. Closing a desktop does not close the apps on it, so you won’t lose work on your other desktops.

1. Open Task View with Win+Tab.
2. Move your mouse over the preview of the desktop you want to close.
3. Click the small X that appears in the top corner of that preview. The preview disappears from the bar.

That’s it. The desktop is gone, and its apps are still running on another desktop.

Any apps you had open on that desktop move to another desktop automatically, usually the one next to it. They keep running, and their unsaved work is still there. Switch to the desktop where they landed, then move or close them as needed.

Moving windows between desktops is the main way to rearrange your apps after closing a desktop. There are two ways to do it in Task View.

1. Open Task View with Win+Tab.
2. To drag a window, point at its thumbnail, then drag it onto the preview of the desktop where you want it and release.
3. To use the menu instead, right-click the window thumbnail and choose Move to. Then pick the destination desktop.

You should now see the window on the desktop you chose, and it no longer appears on the old one.

Tip: To close the desktop you are currently on without opening Task View, press Ctrl+Win+F4. Closing a desktop cannot be undone, but you can create a new one at any time. You would have to move your windows back by hand.

Reference:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-multitask-in-windows-b4fa0333-98f8-ef43-e25c-06d4fb1d6960

Summary

Virtual desktops in Windows 11 give you separate workspaces, so your apps and tasks stay organized. Open Task View, add a desktop, open your apps on it, and close it when you are done. Rename your desktops and move windows between them to keep everything easy to find.