nSpaces 1.3.0

Winner Best software in 2014 - Desktops.

Overview

When running multiple programs at once, it’s not that hard to get confused and mess them up. Therefore you need something in order to stop the distraction caused by the rest of the open applications, letting you focus at only one at a time. nSpaces achieves that by creating different workspaces, which are also referred to as virtual desktops. You can create multiple workspaces, each one for a different purpose and with a different set of applications installed; for example you can have a desktop with your developer tools, a desktop with graphics applications and a desktop for general use (surfing, listening to music, etc.).

Installation

You won’t have any trouble completing the installation, whether you’re a novice or a pro. There are no settings to configure throughout the procedure, except for one step where you are asked which components you want to install. It really doesn’t matter though because there are no additional components apart from the program’s kernel files. After a few steps the installation process will begin and finish in a few moments.

nSpaces can run under any Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7 OS (32 and 64-bit).

Interface

The main window has 4 (by default) sub-windows on its upper part, each one representing a different workspace. You can add or remove workspaces depending on your needs. For each of the workspaces you have many settings to tweak, such as the wallpaper, desktop background color, the applications you want to have in it, hotkeys and passwords.

Pros

You can create many desktops, for you or for other users of the computer, in case it’s a shared one. If you want to restrict access to any of those desktops, you can lock them by adding password protection. In each desktop you can choose the applications that will be available to you. For instance, in one desktop you could have all your games, in another one all your work applications (programming, graphics etc.) and in a third one you could have your internet browsers, media players and instant messengers. For each of the spaces you can select a different name and wallpaper (or background color if you don’t want a wallpaper), as well as assign hotkeys for switching between different desktops.

In addition, you can set nSpaces to launch at Windows startup.

Cons

There are no actual cons here, since the program works perfectly, doesn’t crash or lag and it's easy to use.

Alternatives

Dexpot Virtual Desktop (paid) and Finestra Virtual Desktops (free) are two decent alternatives that share many common features with nSpaces. The basic idea is the same; they divide your workspace into many virtual desktops, each one holding different tasks. Switching between those desktops is easy as well. Their differences overall are very few actually.

Conclusion

nSpaces can be of great use to everyone, especially to those who have a lot of applications for different purposes. It is lightweight, easy to control and mainly, free. Other alternatives are available too, but it would be a waste of time to test them all. Don’t hesitate, go for it.