8.3. Manipulating Virtual Desktops

8.3.1. A Little Bit of Practice

Normally, the internal help window is displayed by default in the first virtual desktop.

Now click on the second virtual desktop's button, then on the text editor icon (see The Panel) to launch it. Reduce the window a bit (let's say to a quarter of the screen), and place it in the lower right corner.

When this is done, go to the third virtual desktop by clicking on button number 3. Then, launch the Konqueror file manager by clicking on the appropriate icon (see The Panel). Notice that the screen seems to empty itself when you switch virtual desktop.

Each button of the virtual desktop's button bar is a tiny representation of each desktop's contents. Click on the second desktop: you will find the text editor in its corner. Press on Ctrl+F1: you will go back to the first desktop, where the internal help window is waiting for you.

8.3.2. Sticking or Transferring Windows

Choose any topic in the KDE HelpCenter. Then, click on the stick-off thumbnail (as shown in the table below) located on the left side of the title bar:

Table 8-3. Stick-On And Stick-Off Thumbnails

The stick-off thumbnail.
The stick-on thumbnail.
  it transforms itself into a stick-on thumbnail, and the virtual desktops' buttons change aspect.

Now, go to the second virtual desktop: you will find exactly the same window. Change the displayed help section, then switch to the fourth desktop, for example. The displayed section is the one you just selected. It is one and only one window, not many help windows.

Click again on the thumbnail to un-stick the window.

However, it often happens that a window is in the way, this may be cumbersome. Naturally you can reduce its size, but here is another possibility. Click on the right button of the help window's title bar and choose To Desktop->Desktop 1.

The window disappears! But you did not close it. If you look at the buttons on the virtual desktop, you will see that its silhouette is now in the first desktop. Go in that desktop and without a doubt, you will find it. You transferred it.

8.3.3. Virtual Desktops Numbers And Naming

According to your activities, you can estimate how many default virtual desktops you need. Right-click on the virtual desktop and choose Preferences in the contextual menu.

Figure 8-4. Configuring Virtual Desktops Under KDE

On the upper-right part of the window is a slider which allows you to define the number of virtual desktops. In our example, we considered six of them, but you can set up to 16 desktops (however, this does consume a lot of memory).

Moreover, you can attribute a name to each desktop: here, the first four have been given names to describe their role. This allows to organize your work easily and clearly. To see the names of your desktops in the buttons, you must first validate the preceding window. Then, right-click on the desktop's buttons and choose Name. You will then see the names appear in the buttons. However, this disables the desktops contents.


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