.NET library for Windows multiple desktop operations
| Platform | NuGet | Downloads |
|---|---|---|
| Core |  |  |
| Forms |  |  |
| WPF |  |  |
- Switch, add, and remove a virtual desktop
- Move any window to any virtual desktop
- Pin any window or application for them to show on all desktops
- Notifications when switching, deleting, or renaming virtual desktops
- Change the wallpaper for each desktop
samples/VirtualDesktop.Showcase
<TargetFramework>net6.0-windows10.0.19041.0</TargetFramework>- .NET 6.0
- .NET 7.0
- .NET 8.0
- Windows 10 build 19041 (20H1) or later
Install NuGet package(s).
PM>Install-Package VirtualDesktop- VirtualDesktop - Core classes for VirtualDesktop.
- VirtualDesktop.WPF - Provides extension methods for WPF Window class.
- VirtualDesktop.WinForms - Provides extension methods for Form class.
Because of the dependency on C#/WinRT, the target framework must be set to net6.0-windows10.0.19041.0 or later.
<TargetFramework>net6.0-windows10.0.19041.0</TargetFramework>If it does not work, try creating an app.manifest file optimized to work on Windows 10.
<compatibilityxmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:compatibility.v1">
<application>
<!-- Windows 10 / 11-->
<supportedOSId="{8e0f7a12-bfb3-4fe8-b9a5-48fd50a15a9a}" />
</application>
</compatibility>The namespace to use is WindowsDesktop.
usingWindowsDesktop;// Get all virtual desktopsvardesktops=VirtualDesktop.GetDesktops();// Get Virtual Desktop for specific windowvardesktop=VirtualDesktop.FromHwnd(hwnd);// Get the left/right desktopvarleft=desktop.GetLeft();varright=desktop.GetRight();// Create newvardesktop=VirtualDesktop.Create();// Removedesktop.Remove();// Switchdesktop.GetLeft().Switch();// Notification of desktop switchingVirtualDesktop.CurrentChanged+=(_,args)=>Console.WriteLine($"Switched: {args.NewDesktop.Name}");// Notification of desktop creatingVirtualDesktop.Created+=(_,desktop)=>desktop.Switch();// Need to install 'VirtualDesktop.WPF' package// Check whether a window is on the current desktop.varisCurrent=window.IsCurrentVirtualDesktop();// Get Virtual Desktop for WPF windowvardesktop=window.GetCurrentDesktop();// Move window to specific Virtual Desktopwindow.MoveToDesktop(desktop);// Pin windowwindow.Pin()Since this library is using undocumented interfaces, you need to reverse engineer your Windows version to support it.
The class IDs of undocumented interfaces tend to change between different OS versions. If the demo application crashes on start-up, you will need to provide the interfaces' IDs matching your Windows version.
Here are the interfaces we need:
IApplicationViewIApplicationViewCollectionIObjectArrayIServiceProviderIVirtualDesktopIVirtualDesktopManagerIVirtualDesktopManagerInternalIVirtualDesktopNotificationIVirtualDesktopNotificationServiceIVirtualDesktopPinnedApps
Once you have those IDs, add them in a new setting element in app.config.
Make sure to specify the correct 9 digits Windows build and cumulative update version.
You can get it using one of those methods:
- From the UI run:
winver - From shell run:
ver - From powershell run:
cmd /c ver
Don't forget to contribute back your changes.
To publish a new release specify your version in Directory.Build.props and push the changes with a commit description such as:
Release vx.y.z where x, y, z form your version number. That should publish it on NuGet providing that your secret NUGET_API_KEY is still valid.
This library is essentially a C# wrapper for IVirtualDesktopManager and related undocumented interfaces. In order to support breaking binary changes between Windows versions we perform runtime compilation of a DLL providing access to the COM interfaces matching your OS build version.
- samples/README.md
- StackOverflow
- Upstream repository - unmaintained
- VirtualDesktop command line tool - not using this library
- VirtualDesktop AutoHotKey DLL
- C#/WinRT repository
This library is under the MIT License.
- Thanks @Grabacr07 for creating this great piece of software
- All contributors for sharing your work with the community