We use so many software’s and services that these days that our desktop gets cluttered with all the icons and open windows. Virtual Desktop managers helps in being more efficient and in turn increase our productivity. Virtual desktops provide us with a virtual space where we can place our applications, icons etc. Applications can be moved within desktop in order to organize them and reduce clutter. I use virtual desktop managers to have separate desktops for my needs such as blogging, gaming, movies. Here I will tell you about Virtual Desktop Managers that can help you increase your productivity and also get some cool effects on your desktop.

1) Yet Another Desktop Manager 3d (Yodm 3d)

Yod’m 3d is a virtual desktop manager that allows you to have 4 virtual desktop. The desktops are situated in a virtual cube which can be revolved to switch between desktops by use of Hotkey’s such as Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys. It also allows you to select your own hotkey which you can use to switch between desktops.

It requires no installation, just download it, extract it and run it. It also allows you to have separate wallpapers and icons on each desktop. To have different wallpapers, you will have to use the Properties dialog. You can also drag the windows between the desktop but since the program is very sensitive to mouse, you have to do it very slowly and carefully. You can view a far view of your desktop by using Ctrl + Shift + Up key. It makes use of DirectX 9 instead of openGL. It is not a memory hogger and will perform well even in low end systems.

The program was developed by Chris’Soft but it has now being acquired by Otaku software and is now being developed under the name of DeskSpace. The last version before it was sold is 1.4 which is still free.

2) Dexpot

Dexpot Another free tool which you can use to manage your Virtual Desktops. It allows you to have upto 20 virtual desktops at one time. So you can have a separate desktop for games, music, movies, applications etc. It can also allow you to use different background, screensaver, icons, resolution for each Desktop. You can switch between the desktops using Windows + right arrow. You can also customize the buttons which you can use to switch between desktops.

It also has a large number of features such as

• Desktop Manager : It can show all your desktops above the system tray so that you can switch between them using mouse click

• Desktop Preview : It shows a window where you can see all your desktops and the applications which are running in each

• Desktop Slideshow : It can be used to switch between desktops at regular intervals.

• Desktop Windows : It opens a window where you can see the applications running in each windows in a list based model. You can also search for any application. It will be helpful for those who are running a large number of desktops.

• Desktop Rules: It allows you to define some specific rules which are related to windows which you open in each Desktop

• Full Screen Preview : You can use it to view all your desktops in Full screen

It also contains a lot of other features which you can customize according to your needs. It doesn’t consume a lot of memory and supports all the Windows Version from 95 to Vista.

3)Vista and XP Virtual Desktop Manager

If you are a Vista user, then Vista Virtual Desktop manager is a right tool for you. It makes use of the Vista’s new DWM based Aero interface to provide full screen thumbnail previews. It also allows you to have an infinite number of desktops.

If you are a XP user, you can also use it. But it will not display Windows Previews as it is available for Vista. It can also send Windows between Desktops using certain hotkeys.

Some of its features are

• Desktop Switch Indicator

• Infinite Number of Desktops

• Multiple Monitor Support

• Per Desktop Backgrounds

• Windows menus

• and many more

4) 360 Desktop

This is not similar to other Desktop Manager, it wont create any virtual desktops but will extend the Windows Desktop as a 360 degree work space. 360 Desktop expands your existing desktop beyond the edge of monitor in a panoramic view. You can also attach lots of cool web widgets to your expanded desktop. Read more about it here.

5) Cube Desktop

Cube Desktop does come with a price of around $34 but it has some nice and amazing 3d features. It supports a maximum of 6 virtual desktop and each can be customized in terms of icons and desktop. You can switch between one desktop to another using some cool 3d cube effects. Some of its features are

• Desktop Privacy – Tag Desktops as private so they are only accessible with a password

• Automatically Start Applications on certain Desktops

• Use Of Hotkeys

• 3D Effects in switching between desktops

• Live Preview of all the updates

• Advanced Visualization Effects

• and lots more

Though it offers all these features, it memory usage is not too much considering the other. So if you are ready to shell out a few bucks, then this a great choice.

Though there are more software’s available for managing Virtual Desktop, IMHO, these seem to be the best.