<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
is	O
a	O
term	O
used	O
with	O
respect	O
to	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
,	O
usually	O
within	O
the	O
WIMP	B-Application
paradigm	O
,	O
to	O
describe	O
ways	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
virtual	O
space	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
desktop	O
environment	O
is	O
expanded	O
beyond	O
the	O
physical	O
limits	O
of	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
's	O
display	O
area	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
compensates	O
limits	O
of	O
the	O
desktop	O
area	O
and	O
is	O
helpful	O
in	O
reducing	O
clutter	O
of	O
running	O
graphical	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
major	O
approaches	O
to	O
expanding	O
the	O
virtual	O
area	O
of	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Switchable	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
make	O
virtual	O
copies	O
of	O
their	O
desktop	O
view-port	O
and	O
switch	O
between	O
them	O
,	O
with	O
open	O
windows	O
existing	O
on	O
single	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
approach	O
is	O
to	O
expand	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
virtual	B-Application
screen	I-Application
beyond	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
physical	O
viewing	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
scrolling/panning	O
a	O
subsection	O
of	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
into	O
view	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
navigate	O
an	O
oversized	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Switchable	O
desktops	O
were	O
introduced	O
to	O
a	O
much	O
larger	O
audience	O
by	O
Tom	B-Language
LaStrange	I-Language
in	O
swm	B-Device
(	O
the	O
Solbourne	O
Window	B-Application
Manager	I-Application
,	O
for	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
)	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
"	O
Virtual	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
"	O
was	O
originally	O
a	O
trademark	O
of	O
Solbourne	O
Computer	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
simply	O
being	O
placed	O
at	O
an	O
x	B-Operating_System
,	O
y	O
position	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
display	O
,	O
windows	O
of	O
running	O
applications	O
are	O
then	O
placed	O
at	O
x	B-Operating_System
,	O
y	O
positions	O
on	O
a	O
given	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
“	O
context	O
”	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
switching	O
desktop	O
provides	O
a	O
pager	B-Application
for	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
switch	O
between	O
"	O
contexts	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
pages	O
of	O
screen	B-Device
space	O
,	O
only	O
one	O
of	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
display	O
at	O
any	O
given	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
X	B-Application
window	I-Application
managers	I-Application
provide	O
switching	O
desktops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
kinds	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
environments	O
do	O
not	O
offer	O
discrete	O
virtual	B-Application
screens	I-Application
,	O
but	O
instead	O
make	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
pan	O
around	O
a	O
desktop	O
that	O
is	O
larger	O
than	O
the	O
available	O
hardware	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
if	O
a	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
has	O
a	O
maximum	O
resolution	O
that	O
is	O
higher	O
than	O
the	O
monitor	O
's	O
display	O
resolution	O
,	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
manager	O
may	O
allow	O
windows	O
to	O
be	O
placed	O
"	O
off	O
the	O
edge	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
visible	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
larger	O
virtual	B-Application
screen	I-Application
is	O
called	O
a	O
viewport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
managers	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
most	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
offer	O
various	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
placing	O
different	O
wallpapers	O
for	O
each	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
and	O
use	O
of	O
hotkeys	O
or	O
other	O
convenient	O
methods	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
switch	O
amongst	O
the	O
different	O
screens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
platform	O
to	O
implement	O
multiple	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
display	O
as	O
a	O
hardware	O
feature	O
was	O
Amiga	B-Device
1000	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
Amigas	B-Device
supported	O
multiple	O
in-memory	O
screens	O
displayed	O
concurrently	O
via	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	O
co-processor	O
,	O
AKA	O
the	O
"	O
Copper	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Copper	O
was	O
a	O
simple	O
processor	O
that	O
could	O
wait	O
for	O
a	O
screen	B-Device
position	O
and	O
write	O
to	O
hardware	O
registers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
GUI	B-Application
implemented	O
in	O
system	O
ROM	O
API	O
's	O
,	O
programs	O
could	O
transparently	O
display	O
multiple	O
independent	O
screens	O
,	O
from	O
non-consecutive	O
memory	O
,	O
without	O
moving	O
the	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	O
output	O
is	O
simply	O
told	O
(	O
once	O
,	O
or	O
many	O
times	O
)	O
where	O
to	O
display	O
(	O
scanline	O
)	O
and	O
from	O
what	O
screen	B-Device
memory	O
address	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
screen	B-Device
can	O
move	O
to	O
any	O
position	O
,	O
or	O
display	O
any	O
portion	O
,	O
by	O
modifying	O
the	O
wait	O
,	O
or	O
fetch	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
desktop	O
or	O
'	O
screen	B-Device
 '	O
could	O
have	O
its	O
own	O
colour	O
depth	O
(	O
number	O
of	O
available	O
colours	O
)	O
and	O
resolution	O
,	O
including	O
use	O
of	O
interlacing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
display	O
chipset	O
( 	O
 '	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
 '	O
on	O
a	O
PC	O
)	O
could	O
switch	O
between	O
these	O
desktop	O
modes	O
on	O
the	O
fly	O
,	O
and	O
during	O
the	O
drawing	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
screen	B-Device
,	O
usually	O
with	O
three	O
pixel	O
deep	O
line	O
between	O
each	O
desktop	O
shown	O
on	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
also	O
allowed	O
the	O
OS	O
to	O
seamlessly	O
mix	O
"	O
Full	O
Screen	B-Device
"	O
and	O
Windowed	O
"	O
desktop	O
"	O
-style	O
applications	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
programs	O
,	O
VWorlds	O
(	O
an	O
astronomy	O
simulator	O
)	O
being	O
an	O
example	O
,	O
used	O
the	O
multiple	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
feature	O
to	O
overlay	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
controls	O
over	O
the	O
main	O
display	O
screen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
all	O
Unix	B-Application
and	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
use	O
either	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
or	O
the	O
Wayland	B-Language
protocol	I-Language
to	O
provide	O
their	O
windowing	O
environment	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
becoming	O
more	O
prevalent	O
on	O
Linux-based	O
systems	O
as	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
2020s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
systems	O
are	O
unique	O
in	O
that	O
the	O
decoration	O
,	O
placement	O
,	O
and	O
management	O
of	O
windows	O
are	O
handled	O
by	O
a	O
separate	O
,	O
replaceable	O
program	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
window	B-Application
manager	I-Application
on	O
the	O
former	O
or	O
a	O
compositor	O
on	O
the	O
latter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
separation	O
allowed	O
third-party	B-General_Concept
developers	O
to	O
introduce	O
a	O
host	O
of	O
different	O
window	B-Application
manager	I-Application
features	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
development	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
capabilities	O
in	O
X	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
implementation	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
for	O
Unix	B-Application
was	O
vtwm	B-Device
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
today	O
's	O
X	B-Application
window	I-Application
managers	I-Application
and	O
Wayland	B-Language
compositors	O
now	O
include	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Configurations	O
range	O
from	O
as	O
few	O
as	O
two	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
to	O
several	O
hundred	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
popular	O
desktop	O
environments	O
,	O
GNOME	B-Application
and	O
KDE	B-Application
,	O
use	O
multiple	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
called	O
workspaces	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
window	O
managers	O
,	O
like	O
FVWM	B-Device
,	O
offer	O
separate	O
"	O
desks	O
"	O
that	O
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
organize	O
applications	O
even	O
further	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
window	O
managers	O
such	O
as	O
dwm	B-Language
and	O
Sawfish	B-Language
support	O
"	O
tagging	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
window	O
rules	O
for	O
KDE	B-Application
)	O
where	O
applications	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
to	O
always	O
launch	O
on	O
a	O
particular	O
desktop	O
,	O
screen	B-Device
,	O
and	O
position	O
,	O
supporting	O
automatic	O
organization	O
and	O
consistent	O
navigation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
personal	O
computer	O
OS/2	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
included	O
multiple	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
(	O
up	O
to	O
4	O
natively	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	O
4	O
release	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
functionality	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
open	O
source	O
XWorkplace	O
project	O
,	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
XWorkplace	O
is	O
included	O
with	O
the	O
ArcaOS	B-Device
distribution	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
and	O
11	B-Application
offer	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
through	O
a	O
system	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Task	O
View	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
did	O
not	O
implement	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
natively	O
in	O
a	O
user-accessible	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
third-party	B-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
VirtuaWin	B-Application
,	O
Dexpot	O
and	O
others	O
)	O
and	O
some	O
partially	O
supported	O
Microsoft	O
products	O
that	O
implement	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
to	O
varying	O
degrees	O
of	O
completeness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
offers	O
a	O
utility	O
called	O
Desktops	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
running	O
Windows	O
Vista	O
or	O
Windows	O
Server	O
2008	O
or	O
later	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
to	O
run	O
applications	O
on	O
up	O
to	O
4	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
nearly	O
all	O
other	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
solutions	O
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
this	O
utility	O
actually	O
uses	O
native	O
"	O
desktop	O
objects	O
,	O
"	O
as	O
discussed	O
above	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
offer	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
move	O
programs	O
between	O
desktops	O
,	O
or	O
in	O
fact	O
to	O
stop	O
using	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
at	O
all	O
,	O
short	O
of	O
logging	O
off	O
,	O
and	O
Windows	O
Aero	O
only	O
works	O
on	O
the	O
primary	O
desktop	O
object	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
had	O
previously	O
provided	O
a	O
Virtual	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
PowerToy	B-Application
for	O
Windows	O
XP	O
,	O
which	O
simulates	O
many	O
desktops	O
with	O
the	O
more	O
common	O
method	O
of	O
hiding	O
and	O
showing	O
windows	O
in	O
groups	O
,	O
each	O
group	O
being	O
a	O
different	O
desktop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
functionality	O
provided	O
is	O
less	O
comprehensive	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
many	O
other	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
solutions	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
all	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
utilities	O
that	O
work	O
by	O
hiding	O
and	O
showing	O
windows	O
,	O
application	O
compatibility	O
problems	O
are	O
common	O
,	O
because	O
application	O
developers	O
do	O
not	O
expect	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
to	O
be	O
in	O
use	O
on	O
the	O
Windows	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Historically	O
,	O
software	O
packaged	O
with	O
some	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
drivers	O
provided	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
functionality	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
Nvidia	O
's	O
nView	O
product	O
(	O
this	O
product	O
has	O
been	O
discontinued	O
for	O
GeForce	O
card	O
owners	O
since	O
Vista	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
programs	O
provide	O
eye-candy	O
features	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
available	O
on	O
Compiz	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
desktop	B-Application
shell	I-Application
replacements	I-Application
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
including	O
LiteStep	O
,	O
Emerge	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
and	O
others	O
,	O
also	O
support	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
via	O
optional	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
scrolling	O
desktops	O
were	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
Macintosh	B-Device
users	O
by	O
a	O
3rd	O
party	O
extension	O
called	O
Stepping	O
Out	O
created	O
by	O
Wes	O
Boyd	O
(	O
the	O
future	O
founder	O
of	O
Berkeley	O
Systems	O
)	O
in	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
for	O
this	O
extension	O
was	O
integrated	O
by	O
Apple	O
into	O
a	O
later	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
although	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
create	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
larger	O
than	O
the	O
screen	B-Device
was	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
Unix	B-Application
underpinnings	O
,	O
macOS	B-Application
does	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
for	O
its	O
GUI	B-Application
,	O
and	O
early	O
versions	O
had	O
no	O
provision	O
for	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
with	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.5	I-Application
Leopard	I-Application
in	O
late	O
2007	O
,	O
macOS	B-Application
has	O
shipped	O
with	O
native	O
virtual	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
support	O
,	O
called	O
Spaces	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
up	O
to	O
16	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
OS	B-Application
X	I-Application
10.7	I-Application
Lion	I-Application
,	O
this	O
functionality	O
has	O
been	O
moved	O
into	O
Mission	O
Control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BeOS	B-Application
included	O
an	O
implementation	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
desktops	I-Application
called	O
"	O
Workspaces	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Up	O
to	O
32	O
different	O
Workspaces	B-Application
were	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
