Definition

virtual desktop manager

A virtual desktop manager is a program that allows a computer user to have more than one user interface available simultaneously on a single computer. Each user interface is called a virtual desktop.

Virtual desktop managers allow folders and icons to be moved from one virtual desktop to another by dragging and dropping with a mouse, just as files can be moved among folders on a single desktop. Each virtual desktop occupies a defined portion of the screen, and the set of virtual desktops is arranged in a matrix or grid. The size of the matrix depends on the number of virtual desktops.

Several vendors offer virtual desktop managers.

Related glossary terms: ICQ, incident management (IcM), Remote Network Access Application (RNAAPP), infrastructure management (IM), problem management, autoexec.bat, floating point unit (FPU), taskbar, blue screen of death (BSOD), OCX

This was last updated in September 2006

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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