When One Isn't Enough: An Analysis of Virtual Desktop Usage Strategies and Their Implications for Design
Meredith Ringel
Extended Abstracts of CHI 2003

Screen space is a limited resource for computer users multiple monitors are one means of workspace expansion, and virtual desktops are yet another way to increase screen real-estate. We present a taxonomy of organization strategies based on our observations during a series of interviews with virtual desktop users. Additionally, we explore causes of varying user preferences for physical versus virtual means of screen-space expansion. Finally, we discuss the design implications of our findings. that their mappings of windows to particular virtual desktops were remarkably consistent for individual users over time. We also learned that many users did not view virtual desktops as a cheaper and less optimal solution than multiple monitors, but rather that they preferred to use virtual desktops in some situations and multi-monitor setups in others.

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