XSMP was released as part of X11R6. X11R5 used a simpler session
management mechanism, which is now regarded as broken.
8.3 Virtual Desktops
Many of the current window managers provide virtual desktop or workspace capability
??”the ability to access a desktop space that is a multiple of the screen size. For
example, a window manager configured with four virtual desktops would permit you
to move with the mouse or keyboard from one of the four desktops to another.
Virtual desktops provide a simple, easily understood mechanism for organizing large
numbers of windows. It??™s not uncommon to see users group related applications on
different desktops??”email and messaging on one, web browsing on another, photo
management or writing on a third??”and then jump between them.
Most window managers or desktop environments that provide virtual desktops also
provide a pager (or workspace switcher, or desktop switcher), which permits the user
8.3
8.3 Virtual Desktops 121
to see the size and position of windows on each desktop and to switch desktops by
clicking on one. Some pagers also permit you to drag windows from one virtual desktop
to another.
The GNOME desktop switcher, shown in Figure 8-1, shows the typical appearance
of most pagers; when this example was taken, there were 22 windows on 6 virtual
desktops (some are hidden under other windows).
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