Virtual desktop

and the Compiz cube plugin to decorate the KDE desktop environment. In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the screen's display area through the use of software. This compensates limits of the desktop area and is helpful in reducing clutter of running graphical applications. There are two major approaches to expanding the virtual area of the screen. Switchable virtual desktops allow the user to make virtual copies of their desktop view-port and switch between them, with open windows existing on single virtual desktops. Another approach is to expand the size of a single virtual screen beyond the size of the physical viewing device. Typically, scrolling/panning a subsection of the virtual desktop into view is used to navigate an oversized virtual desktop.

and the Compiz cube plugin to decorate the KDE desktop environment.]] In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the screen's display area through the use of software. This compensates limits of the desktop area and is helpful in reducing clutter of running graphical applications. There are two major approaches to expanding the virtual area of the screen. Switchable virtual desktops allow the user to make virtual copies of their desktop view-port and switch between them, with open windows existing on single virtual desktops. Another approach is to expand the size of a single virtual screen beyond the size of the physical viewing device. Typically, scrolling/panning a subsection of the virtual desktop into view is used to navigate an oversized virtual desktop.

Unix and Unix-like with X11 or Wayland

Almost all Unix and Unix-like systems use either the X Window System or the Wayland protocol to provide their windowing environment, with the latter becoming more prevalent on Linux-based systems as of the early 2020s. These systems are unique in that the decoration, placement, and management of windows are handled by a separate, replaceable program known as a window manager on the former or a compositor on the latter. This separation allowed third-party developers to introduce a host of different window manager features, resulting in the early development of virtual desktop capabilities in X. The first implementation of virtual desktops for Unix was vtwm in 1990. IXI Limited's Panorama was an early example of a commercial virtual desktop product for Unix. Many of today's X window managers and Wayland compositors now include virtual desktop capabilities. Configurations range from as few as two virtual desktops to several hundred. The most popular desktop environments, GNOME and KDE, use multiple virtual desktops called workspaces. These may exist in a fixed number or be created on the fly as they are populated. Some window managers, like FVWM, offer separate "desks" that allow the user to organize applications even further. For example, a user may have separate desks labeled "Work" and "Home", with the same programs running on both desks, but fulfilling different functions. Some window managers such as dwm and Sawfish support "tagging" (or window rules for KDE) where applications can be configured to always launch on a particular desktop, screen, and position, supporting automatic organization and consistent navigation. File:Kubuntu 21.04 (KDE Plasma 5) - Virtual Desktops.png|alt=Compositing window manager|Kubuntu 21.04 (KDE Plasma 5) multiple displays and virtual desktops arrangement. The theme (grid) is non-default and highly configurable. Navigation is usually done by computer mouse or arrow keys. Compositing window manager is the software responsible for this kind of effect under Linux systems.

References

External links

Ars Technica: "The Micro-AmigaOne and Amiga OS4 Developer Prerelease" (Update 1), By Jeremy Reimer, Monday January 17, 2005 ("Desktop and drawers" section).

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