microsoft
PowerToys Workspaces: a shortcut per workspace.
Description of the new feature / enhancement
It would be useful to be able to have a specified shortcut for each Workspace. For example, by pressing Windows+Ctrl+1 my 1st workspace launches directly, by pressing Windows+Ctrl+2 my 2nd workspace launches directly (by first closing all apps opened by any previous workspace?), etc.
Scenario when this would be used?
This is very practical since I can go directly from powering on my system to launching my workspace with the press of a single shortcut. Now that I think of it, along with the above, why not have the option of launching a specific Workspace on startup?
Supporting information
No response
Excellent feature request.
I would add the following :
- If pressing the shortcut of a given workspace again, minimize all the windows included in that workspace.
- If pressing again after having minimized them, recall the workspace.
- Possible to switch between workspaces by simply pressing each workspace's shortcut (e.g. : Workspace 1 is Firefox maximized on monitor 2, Workspace 2 is 2 apps side by side on monitor 2 and Firefox maximized on monitor 1).
AHK Workspaces by Maestrith is a AHK script from 2016 which does that and is very powerful and flexible, it could be an excellent model for Powertoys' Workspaces.
Shortcuts to launch a specific workspace is for me a MUST HAVE feature for the tool to make sense.
If not with keyboard shortcuts, at least integrate with PowerToys Runner as a plugin(?), so that with some prefix it would list only stored workspaces, and selecting would launch the given workspace. Having to launch the workspace editor seems counter intuitive.
@Stelios-Mav You have the possibility to create a desktop shortcut when creating a workspace, or even later. Then you can specify a "shortcut key" to your shortcut on the desktop. You can of course move it to any desired location.
/needinfo
Thank you for the suggestion @donlaci. I've tried that before and for some reason shortcut keys didn't work. For the time being, I pinned the created shortcut on my taskbar for easy access (and a clean desktop). Regardless, the feature would be a nice addition to Workspaces. Plus, it's a way to utilize the windows key as a shortcut key since, by what I can tell, a user cannot assign it for a user-generated shortcut (to reserve it for Windows' shortcuts, I guess?).
This is insane that this simple feature is not in this app yet. Like who ever designed this never intended to use this, just wanted to get it done and move on.
This is insane that this simple feature is not in this app yet. Like who ever designed this never intended to use this, just wanted to get it done and move on.
The feature was probably developed by a heavy mouse user.
Completely useless for me without keyboard shortcuts.
AHK Workspaces by Maestrith is a AHK script from 2016 which does that and is very powerful and flexible, it could be an excellent model for Powertoys' Workspaces.
This can be done in a relatively simple way, I think. At least it works for me and I have it bound to a button on my mouse now (using Logitech Ghub and not the Keyboard Manager from PowerToys mentioned below, but the idea is the same).
- Create your workspace
- Check the "Create desktop shortcut" box and save the workspace
- Go to the shortcut on the desktop and right click -> Properties
- You will see a string of numbers and letters following the target
- For me this is
"C:\Program Files\PowerToys\PowerToys.WorkspacesLauncher.exe" {8C8581DE-85E1-4D7B-A4BF-AE9C683CA888} 1
- For me this is
- Now go back to PowerToys and go to the Keyboard Manager section
- There make your shortcut whatever you want, change the action to "Run Program", select the above mentioned exe and for "Args" copy and paste the string above (just the string and the 1, not the path) from the desktop shortcut
- (optional maybe?) also click "Select Path" and go to where your PowerToys installation is located
- Delete the shortcut from the desktop if you want
The string is probably some kind of identifier for the workspace you want so using mine above will likely not work. Not quite sure what the 1 at the end is doing though. I hope that the identifier doesn't change when you reboot (very likely that it doesn't) but I'll find that out later.
We’re currently planning to integrate Workspaces launching directly into Command Palette, in next release, so users can quickly trigger workspace setups from there without needing a separate entry point.
That said, we’d love to hear your thoughts on whether this approach would address your workflow, or if you still feel a dedicated shortcut would be valuable. Please feel free to share any additional ideas or use cases — we’re very open to suggestions.
