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I work on multiple projects involving many different tools and therefore windows in my taskbar.

I use the virtual desktop feature of Windows 10 to avoid having a messy desktop.

I can let my laptop go to sleep when I close it (without losing my desktop sessions), and I can switch between sessions when I am working on specific projects.

But what can I do for rebooting, applying updates, or simply turning off the computer?

I would like to be able to save each instance of a running virtual desktop and then relaunch them with all their associated applications and windows (e.g. IntelliJ + Firefox + ... for one desktop).

How can I achieve this?

PeterJames
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jacq
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    My workaround is to create a few chrome profiles and assign each profile to a given desktop. But then it's another hassle, since you might have to synchronize bookmarks, history, etc. And chrome only allows one Google account per profile, so it has to be a third party tool rather than chrome's built-in sync. Many layers of hacks, so only partial satisfaction ;-) As far as apps, such a bummer, I haven't found any way. – deryb Jun 18 '19 at 13:32
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    The script from [this answer](https://superuser.com/a/1477582/8672) of mine might help. – harrymc Jan 18 '21 at 20:45
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    Is VMs an option? You could have several VMs, one for each project. When you close the VM, it saves the current state. You can open it 5 years later and it is exactly where you left it, even the half sentence that you were typing before it was saved. – cup May 08 '21 at 05:39
  • Have you considered using hibernate? I go months without shutting down my computer/laptop. – rfportilla Oct 26 '22 at 02:45

1 Answers1

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You can use the application VDesk this way:

  1. You configure VDesk to automatically create N new Virtual Desktops when opened;
  2. You configure VDesk to automatically open your applications on each Virtual Desktop;
  3. You set VDesk to autostart with Windows;

∴ Each time you login on Windows, all pre-configured Virtual Desktop sessions will be opened, each with their respective programs.

How to use VDesk?

The main command looks like this: vdesk [n] [command [args]]

  • n sets the index of the virtual desktop you want to launch the program on.
  • [command [args]] specifies the program and arguments that you want it to start.

The command vdesk notepad.exe launches Notepad on a new virtual desktop, while vdesk 3 notepad c:\text.txt opens Notepad on virtual desktop 3 and uses an argument to load text.txt automatically.

As detailed on Windows 10 - virtual desktop startup automation .

BsAxUbx5KoQDEpCAqSffwGy554PSah
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