this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2025
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True for the phone and tablet, but for any sort of computer that is not true
I work on a laptop with virtual desktops and I am much more productive that way than with a big screen... Or two big screens.
Everything is in the center of my field of view, I know which VD of my 3x3 grid holds what. It's much more efficient for me than bigger screens could ever be. And that is not for lack of trying!
It just depends on the person.
You just changed how I think about virtual screens. I feel like Khan being unloaded on by Kirk.
I decided long ago that I liked the single monitor with multiple desktops. But in my head they have always been a line of desktops instead of a grid.
Somewhere there is a mathematician who uses a hyper cube array of desktops…
When I discovered it can be arranged in a grid, it made VDs so much more useful.
Cause a line of the same amount of VDs (9)... Ugh, not fun haha
Even though you can map each to a shortcut, it's still tougher to use than a grid with directional shortcuts!
How do you have your shortcuts set up for this? And if you don't mind me asking, what desktop environment / window manager are you using?
I am using KDE's Plasma 6 as a DE with Wayland. The compositor (window managers are a Xorg thing) is KWin
The shortcuts I use are Meta+Up/Down/Left/Right. I can't remember if they're default or if I set them this way.
Those should be the defaults, yeah.
Ctrl+Alt+↑/↓/←/→
VDs arranged in a grid ? Why ?
Faster switch. Think each column being 1-3 and each row as A-C
B2 is my terminals, B3 is my IDE, B1 is a secondary IDE (for instance, DataGrip), C row is browser windows, A1-2 is temporary, not often used windows, A3 is communication apps. I mostly use A3, B2-3 and C2-3. It's all mapped in my head so I can instantly switch to whichever VD I need.
That's impressive
Personally I never needed more than 5 desktops, and I don't think I could remember what I put on more desktops
Haha that's fair
Although it's a habit thing. Most of these are fixed, I never switch them to a different position. So the only ones I have to remember is A1-2 if I am using them, the rest is as easy as knowing where your glasses are stored in your cupboards.
I'll often have documentation on another monitor, so I can full-screen my code and still reference the documentation without switching windows.
I prefer to switch down to the VD with the doc on fullscreen than noving my head to another monitor
Grid VDs club. Although I only use 2x2 because toggle up/down/righ/left is complicated enough for my brain.
Maybe a cross setup would work for you if you ever need a 5th VD :)
Exactly, this is why the most 'important' person just uses a phone they are the most efficient with the smallest screen