|
Written by Tom Mordasky
|
|
Tuesday, 01 August 2006 |
Multiple desktop madness
 In keeping with my recent theme of alternative ways of interacting with OSX, this weeks dot.APP article looks at Desktop Virtualization. Basically the idea is to create multiple desktop environments to reduce clutter and increase organization and efficiency. Specifically we will be looking at VirtueDesktops , a cutting edge desktop manager. When you have multiple windows in multiple applications open simultaneously, things can get pretty unruly pretty quick. Can Virtue help you keep it together?
VirtueDesktops is a free public beta written and distributed by Tony Arnold. Its use requires Tiger and installation is a simple drag and drop. When it launches for the first time, Virtue is simply a small icon appearing in the menu bar. By default it has four pre-set desktops, “Main”, “Mail”, “Browsing” and “Code”. Opening an application’s window will tie that app to the current desktop. Thus opening the mail window in the desktop titled “Mail” gives you a dedicated workspace for e-mail. The desktop inspection panels (available via the pull down menu) allow you to create, name and delete the custom workspaces. Virtue can create an unlimited number of individual desktops. In addition the application inspector allows you to specify preferences for each open app, tying it to a particular desktop or allowing it to span across all of them. Each desktop can sport its own background image and a set of labeling options can help you to tell the various workspaces apart.
Switching between the desktops is simple. Either select the desired desktop from the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut (control, shift and the arrow keys by default) to scroll through the available workspaces. To understand how your desktops relate to each other, summon the “Pager” (Option Tab by default). Each desktop has its own square in the grid and can be dragged to the desired location. Up, down, left and right arrows respectively will navigate through the available windows. On computers that support Quartz Extreme, Virtue features window transitions, making moving between desktops a little more interesting. Thus, the same eye candy available via OS X’s fast user switching is available in Virtue. The number of cells in the pager is set in the preferences and will limit the number of available desktops until more are added. Tiny icons show which apps are tied to the various desktops.
Once an application’s windows are tied to a particular desktop they will remain there until either the application is restarted or the windows are moved by the Application Inspector. Clicking on the Application’s icon on the dock, for instance, will bring its menu to the front, but its windows will only be visible in the desktop it is tied to. For example, if you have separate desktops for browsing and e-mail, clicking on an e-mail link will cause the page to appear in the browser window on the other desktop.
VirtueDesktops is essentially a window manager. It does not effect the locations of files, folders or dock items. Do not make the mistake of assuming that it does. Changes you make to your dock, for instance, will appear across all desktops, as will the locations of any items on the actual OS desktop (i.e. users/your account/desktop). Finder windows can also be somewhat problematic as once a particular item has been opened on one desktop it cannot be accessed by another until it is closed again. One way around this is to open a window and then preference the finder to span all desktops. Dragging and dropping files between apps in separate desktops is likewise impossible. Furthermore multiple desktops can be hard to find via the key commands. I found that simplest way to navigate is to arrange all of the desktops in a single row via the pager’s preferences.
Aside from my nit-picks about the interface and its Beta status I found the program performed very well. There were no noticeable bugs or glitches and it accomplished exactly what it was designed to do. Like all alternatives and tweaks to the traditional GUI interface, VirtueDesktops has both its strengths and weaknesses. In this specific case it is the emphasis of organization over integration. With the separate, clutter free workspaces precluding somewhat the various applications’ ability to work together. Users who find they like the style of workspaces offered by Virtue will no doubt work around these relatively modest issues.
 |
The Good: Virtue can create an unlimited number of virtual desktops, providing a simple and effective means of organizing multiple open applications.
The Bad: Somewhat lessens integration across the various desktops. Pager must be expanded manually before new desktops can be created
at smaller sizes.
The Skinny: Desktop Virtualization may not be for everyone but it can certainly reduce clutter and increase efficiency. This Beta is definitely one to watch!
|
|
