I’ve always loved the idea of virtual desktops. Have one for the fun things in life, another for work, another for presentations. Until the latest Windows 10 update, though, they’ve been hidden away. Now, I’m determined to use them. But the first thing I wanted to do was put different wallpapers on each virtual desktop. Here’s how to do it.
I’ll get the basics out of the way first. If you want to create a new virtual desktop in Windows 10, you click the icon that looks like a ladder that sits next to the search box on the taskbar. It’s called the Task View.
This will bring up all your active windows, but also offers a “Create desktop” option at the top left. Click this to create your new virtual desktop, and then you can switch between them by hitting Task View.
Name and change virtual desktop wallpapers in Windows 10: Download time
Annoyingly, there’s no built-in way to change the name of each virtual desktop within Windows 10. Nor can you use different wallpapers by default. But there is an answer, and it’s all thanks to a third-party program called Windows 10 Virtual Desktop Enhancer.
You can install this using the excellent AutoHotkey. but developer Sergio Dias also supplies a downloadable EXE file so that it runs on its own. Head to the download page and select the Zip file.
Extract the Zip to a folder of your choosing. You’ll see two files of particular interest: settings.iniย (although the .ini may not show in the final name) and virtual-desktop-enhancer.exe. The latter is easily spotted because it has a green square icon with H in the middle.
Double-click the virtual-desktop-enhancer.exe file. Nothing much will happen, but you’ll now find a black icon in the taskbar with 1 in the middle.
Rename virtual desktop names in Windows 10
Now double-click the settings.ini file. It will open in Notepad, offering a whole range of settings to play with. You can see what they all do at the Virtual Desktop Enhancer docs page.
Here, I’m just interested in changing the name of Desktop 1 to Work and Desktop 2 to Play.
Scroll down the Notepad file until you see [DesktopNames]. By default, they’re all left blank. As you can see from the screenshot, I’ve renamed them to Work and Play.
Close the file, then head down to the black 1 icon in the taskbar. Right-click it and select “Reload settings”. This will then apply the settings you’ve just changed.
Annoyingly, if you press the Task View then Windows 10 will still call them Desktop 1, Desktop 2 etc. I haven’t found a way to change that.
Change virtual desktop wallpapers in Windows 10
Let’s now change the virtual desktop wallpapers in our different wallpapers. Open up the settings file again, then scroll down to the [Wallpapers] section.
This is easy to understand: point to the picture file you want to act as your backdrop. Note that if you want to use existing wallpapers they’re likely to be inย C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper\.
Again, the Task View is a bit annoying. I really want it to show me the different wallpapers so I can identify and jump to different virtual desktops by sight. Instead, it previews each virtual desktop with the current wallpaper. Stupid Windows.
Windows 10 Virtual Desktop Enhancer
There are a couple of other neat things about Virtual Desktop Enhancer. One is that, if you’re using a mouse, then flicking the scroll wheel while on the taskbar takes you to the next virtual desktop. (Note the screen can glitch, which is irritating.)
Another is that it’s hugely customisable. Want to automatically run Excel when you flick to virtual desktop 3? No problem, just add it in the settings.
You’ll probably want to ensure it loads when you launch Windows, though. Rather than duplicate the advice on how to do this, head to this AutoStart section of the Virtual Desktop Enhancer resource page.
More Windows 10 articles you might like
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Is there a way to select 2 differents wallpapers for each virtual desktop (on dual screen)
Hi – sorry for the delayed response. Sadly not – or at least not that I’ve found. I’m prepared to be proved wrong, however!
I really hope someone will! ๐
Unfortunately this no longer works in the latest Windows 10 fixpacks… ๐
I followed the instructions exactly. However, it doesn’t seem to work for me. After adding the files I want as a wallpaper to settings.ini file, I save it, and then run the .exe program (the one with the green icon). The wallpaper changes to the first file I added in the settings file, but switching desktops does not change the wallpaper to the other pictures I added. It might be worth noting that if I double click the .exe program before editing the settings file as you instructed to in the beginning, nothing comes up in the task bar.
yes, same here. Project seems deprecated.
try
https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NPQ3FKGLNGQ
I use Virtual Desktop Enhancer from microsoft store
try this then
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/p/virtual-desktop-enhancer/9npq3fkglngq
A small tool that lets you setup desktop wallpapers as usual (with personalize desktop background) while allowing different ones for each virtual desktop, is WS Virtual Desktop Tool. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/ws-virtual-desktop-tool/9n5wrj22t733 .
It also adds shortcuts like WIN+2 for desktop 2 and a quick preview menu to find an open application. It makes the feature much more practical in daily life.
https://github.com/m0ngr31/VirtualDesktopManager/releases
This is open source. It allows in its settings to add several background images, so you can add one per virtual desktop. My suggestion is to name the images with the number for its virtual desktop.