Desks At Will

Ever wished you had several large computer screens hooked up your computer?

Desks At Will is here to help. Providing you an unlimited number of virtual desktops – your computer work environment will never be easier to use. Furthermore, each virtual desk has its own appearance: background, fonts and colors, resolution, desktop icons layout.

The software also features password-protection, sticky apps, auto-placing apps, easy shortcuts and a complete and detailed help file and user manual.

Requirements

  • Intel Pentium 75 or better processor ;
  • Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or later ;
  • 16 MB of RAM ;
  • 3 MB of hard disk space.

Features

  • Unlimited virtual desks.
  • Seven Easy Ways to switch from one virtual desktop to another:
    1. Desks Tray Icons : one tray icon for each virtual desk (max: 10);
    2. Desks Taskbar : a look alike of the windows taskbar;
    3. Desks Console : a floating console that represents computer screens;
    4. Main Desks At Will icon (double-click to go to next desktop, shift+double-click to go to the previous desktop);
    5. Alt+Ctrl+Tab to have an Windows Alt+Tab equivalent for your desktops;
    6. Ctrl+Left/Right Arrows to go to the next and previous desks;
    7. Individual desks shortcuts : Ctrl+Alt+1 to go to desk 1 and Ctrl+Alt+4 to desk 4. You can even define your own shortcuts!
  • The representation of the virtual desks is yours to choose :
    • None;
    • Desks Tray Icons;
    • Desks Taskbar;
    • Desks Console.
  • Easy shortcuts to quickly change from one desk to another.
  • Windows may be easily moved from one desktop to another
  • Sticky Apps : these windows will automatically appear on all desktops
  • Unique AutoPlace : Desks At Will can help you organize your desktops by automatically moving applications to a specific desk.
  • Unique Popups AutoPlace : some applications such as Internet Explorer popup windows (such as “Download complete”) , Desks At Will can automatically move this window to the virtual desk it belongs to!
  • Each virtual desk may have its own attributes : appearance (also known as display scheme – fonts and colors), background wallpaper, desktop icons layout, screen resolution (graphic driver must support on the fly resolution changing), passwords, shortcuts.
  • Password protect your private virtual desk so nobody can access it while you’re away getting a cup of coffee !
  • Full customization : Desks At Will offers many options for you to choose from, make Desks At Will look the way you like!
  • Sound events lets you associate sounds with actions such as “Password Protected Desk”, “Switch to a virtual desktop” and “AutoPlace”.
  • A complete and detailed help file and user manual (the user manual must be downloaded as a separate package).

Benefits

 

  • Desktop Clutter
  • Powerful Enhancement
  • Notebooks & Laptops
  • Developers
  • Animated Demo

  • Virtual Desktops solve the desktop clutter problem

    What are the advantages of a virtual desktop-enabled computer? You can easily create groups, or arrangments of applications. For instance, one virtual desktop can contain your word processing applications, another virtual desktop your internet programs, and a third virtual desktop would have your favorite games.

    With a single keystroke, you can change from one environment to another, without minimizing, restoring, resizing and repositionning your windows.

    • it reduces desktop clutter;
    • it improves computer organization;
    • for its ease of use;
    • its stability : a software you can trust;
    • it saves you time by making you organized within your applications;
    • a cleaner computer desktop will make you more productive.

      

  • Powerful desktop enhancement

    Optimize your standard windows desktop with a Virtual Desktop Manager. Your desktop on steroids.

    In the regular Windows environment, you have one desktop. One desktop for all your applications. Enough? Barely. This makes your desktop cluttered and confusion arises from this clutter.

    With a top-rated virtual desktops manager like Desks At Will, you not only have one desktop, but as many as you like. Each virtual desktop (also called virutal desk or virtual screen) is similar to your original windows desktop. They contain applications you want. This lets you arrange your virtual desktops by group of applications. For example, in one virtual desktop, one can have its internet programs such as an e-Mail client or a web browser. In a second virtual desktop, a word processor. No more minimizing, restoring, resizing windows all the time in order to get from one window to another.

    Imagine, having several virtual desktops is very similar to having several monitors connected to your computer, except only one is visible at any given time (the currently active virtual desktop). All applications not visible because they are on another virtual desktop still continue to work in the background.

  • A useful accessory for notebooks , laptops and 14" monitors

    What do Notebooks, Laptops, and 14" monitors have in common?

    The windows desktop is too small. While it would be easy to purchase a 15" or 17" monitor, it still is pretty expensive. And talk about notebooks! This would mean changing the entire computer.

    Desks At Will will help you with that. Desks At Will emulates a computer system with several monitors, on a desktop PC or a notebook. It will create several virtual desktops, or virtual screens. Each virtual desktop is independant, a clean, new desktop for you to use.

    Instead of having 5 or more applications opened, overlapping, creating confusion; why not have 5 virtual desktops with an application in each. All virtual desktops / applications can be accessed with a single keystroke and provide the ease of use and clarity of a one-application desktop.

  • Ideal developer's companion

    Developers are known to have many programs running at the same time. Desks At Will is the ideal companion. Imagine having several monitors where :

    • monitor 1 contains the IDE and debugger;
    • monitor 2 contains the word-processor, project manager or other similar applications;
    • monitor 3 contains your e-Mail client and an internet browser;
    • monitor 4 is empty for an easy access to your desktop icons.

    Desks At Will lets you have this kind of setup on a single-monitor system. You keep your development environment well organized, clear, the way you like it. Stop Alt-Tabbing, resizing, minimizing and restoring applications each time you access a different program.

Screenshots

 

  • The main Desks At Will icon (yellow 4-pane window) will show you the name of the desktop as a hint. In addition, the individual desks tray icons quickly highlight the current desktop and let you switch to another with a single mouse click.
  • The desks console.

Awards

 

award-cnet-featured-application

c|net Featured Application
award-computer-life-download-of-the-day

Computer Life: Download of the day
award-computer-reseller-news

Computer Reseller News
award-file-dudes-4-dudes

FileDudes: 4 Dudes
award-globalshareware-4-disks

GlobalShareware: 4 Disks
award-my-folder-editor-pick

MyFolder: Editor's Pick
award-myfolder-4.5-pick

MyFolder.net: 4.5 Star Editor's Pick
award-pcwin

PCWin: 4 Stars
award-windows-magazine-winlist-1999

Windows Magazine: WinList 1999
award-winfiles-getit

WinFiles: Get It!
award-zd-net-4-stars

ZD-Net: 4 Stars
award-zd-net-hot-file-of-the-day

ZD-Net: Hot File of the Day

Reviews

 

  • DESKTOP SERENPIDITY
    My colleague Jason Parker, who writes AnchorDesk's Killer Downloads column, wrote about launchers recently. Reading his column got me thinking about how nice it would be to have a utility that saves my desktop state when I shut down and restores it when I start up. Every morning I launch the same four apps, a process that might as well be automated. My search was unsuccessful, but that's OK; I found something equally cool. Desks at Will lets you switch between four virtual desktops by clicking in your taskbar. You can have your work apps open in one desktop, and personal apps (such as instant messengers and auction Web sites) open in another. If the boss comes by, you can switch to your work desktop in a millisecond. Beyond its basic functionality (which comes standard with Linux), I am impressed by the options settings and menu functions that let you move your open apps from one virtual desktop to another. If you're a victim of desktop clutter, give it a try. [...]
    - Wayne Cunningham, Senior Editor, CNET Download.com

     

     

  • WILL POWER
    Although Windows supports it, few people have the desk space or the resources to accommodate more than one monitor. Desks At Will creates the illusion of having several monitors, and with a single keystroke you can easily switch between multiple virtual desktops. You could have Word running on one virtual desktop, store a browser and your email client on another, display your file manager on a third, and so on. Desks At Will supports an unlimited number of virtual desktops, and each one can have its own color and font scheme, screen resolution, and background wallpaper. Passwords can also be applied to some or all of the desktops.

     

     

  • Optimize Your Desktop with Virtual 'Desks'
    [...] Believe me, this touch typist doesn't miss hassling with all those minimized icons. Desks At Will is one utility that is going to stay on my system. That's why it joins our WinList this month.
    Bottom Line: Gives you an unlimited number of virtual desktops
    Pros: Simplicity; flexibility
    Cons: No significant problems
    - James E. Powell, WINDOWS Magazine

     

     

  • The week in wares: the latest and greatest software releases
    As cool as it might be to have multiple PCs on your desk--especially if you could zoom from one monitor to the next in your desk chair--it's just not an option for those of us who aren't rolling in dough. But hey, in the virtual world we're all equal, as Idyle Desks at Will proves. This program lets you create up to 100 virtual desktops on one computer. Each virtual desktop is password-protected and includes own wallpaper, colors, fonts, icons, and shortcuts. Just goes to show that you don't need cash to be flash.

     

     

  • 4-Star Program Review
    Idyle Software has come up with an ideal solution to many Windows users needs. While much has been written of the built-in support for up to nine monitors in Win98, few people have the room or resources to accommodate nine monitors, nine video cards, and nine headaches. Idyle Software's solution to this problem is Desks At Will. Create your own desktops for different situations. Indeed, forge ahead and create as many as you desire. Customize each to your needs and then enjoy. Try one desktop with Netscape open and ready, another with your email app standing by, another with Word, etc., ad infinitum. No more minimizing one app while you fire up another. Have each running on its own desktop and simply click on the Desks At Will icon to immediately access and work with the one you want. The Desks At Will installation was fast and simple. A review of the many features incorporated within Desks At Will and you're on your way to an easier life at the computer station. Desks At Will is a powerful means of simplifying your daily tasks. It is also a pleasure to use.

     

     

  • Multipurpose Win95 Desktops
    The multipurpose desktop computer must wear an increasing number of hats: financial wizard, word processor, game center, Internet device, and so on. And often it must do so for several members of a home or office. Rather than force a single Windows 95 desktop screen to serve every purpose, Desks at Will lets you design up to 100 separate desktops, each geared for a specific task or person. Create one with only gaming icons, another with budgeting and bill-paying icons. Each desktop can have its own Taskbar setup, icon and groups arrangement, and even background and desktop theme.

     

     

  • c|net Download.Com - This Week - January 14, 2003
  • c|net Shareware Dispatch - February 23, 2000 Vol. 6, No. 7
  • Windows Magazine - WinList 1999
  • c|net Download Dispatch
  • PCWin, Reviewer's Comments
  • Computer Life Online