Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is remixing Windows Snap Layouts, its virtual desktop features, and PowerToys to create PowerToys Workspaces, which will align the apps you want in the arrangement you want, when you want.
It sounds like a fresh coat of paint for the Windows virtual desktop function that is especially handy on single-screen laptops, but that few people ever use. PowerToys Workspaces includes two key improvements, however: It works across multiple monitors, and you can even configure it to open specific files when it launches. It sounds ideal for those who prioritize organization.
Microsoft is calling this App Layouts for now, but told developers in a YouTube video (via Neowin) that it will be called Workspaces when it launches in the 0.84 revision of PowerToys. (Though it now includes dozens of apps, PowerToys is still officially in preview.)
Here’s how PowerToys Workspaces will work. First, you’ll align your apps as you wish, across multiple monitors. After clicking an undisclosed shortcut key, Workspaces will offer to take a “screenshot” of your desktop, reminiscent of Screen Snip. But the “screenshot” isn’t recorded, just the apps and their position on your screen.
A layout screen will then offer you the ability to configure Workspaces further. To me, this looks very much like the screens used with Snap Layouts, with small icons displaying the app and where it’s located. You’ll be able to add or subtract various apps and move them around in the layout screen, then save the layout. Workspaces will allow you to save multiple layouts and load them when you choose — again, much like Windows’ ability to shift between virtual Windows desktops and their aligned apps.
The kicker is that PowerToys, as you might expect, layers on some additional nerdiness. Workspaces’ configuration screen includes additional options, such as the ability to manually resize the window using a specific pixel count, and to load a specific file when an app is launched.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
It’s all ostensibly aimed at developers, but any consumer who likes to organize their desk, cubicle, and desktop just so will obviously benefit from this as well. Microsoft hasn’t given a release date for Workspaces, but it will automatically be added to your existing PowerToys configuration if you’re keeping it up to date. Since PowerToys is currently at version 0.83 and Workspaces is due in 0.84, you shouldn’t have long to wait.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers’ News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.
