You're sitting at a coffee shop with your Surface Pro X. One minute, you're deep in a massive Excel sheet, and the next, you need to check a personal email or maybe look at a recipe for dinner. If you’re like most people, your taskbar is a cluttered mess of icons. It’s chaotic. Honestly, it's the fastest way to kill your productivity. But there is a better way to handle this on Windows 11 (or 10 if you haven't updated yet). Knowing how to switch desktops Surface X Pro users often find, is the difference between a cramped tablet experience and a professional workstation.
Virtual desktops aren't new. Linux users have had them for decades. macOS users swear by them. But on the ARM-based Surface Pro X, they feel particularly snappy because of how the SQ1 and SQ2 chips handle memory management for native Windows tasks. It basically gives you infinite screen real estate without needing a second monitor.
Getting started with Task View
The heart of switching desktops is a feature called Task View. Most people click it by accident and then get confused. You'll see it on your taskbar—it looks like two overlapping squares. Click it. Suddenly, all your open windows shrink, and at the bottom of the screen, you see a little plus sign labeled "New desktop."
If you tap that plus sign, a clean, empty slate appears. It’s like buying a brand-new computer for the afternoon. You can have your work stuff on Desktop 1 and your "distraction" stuff like Spotify, Discord, or Chrome on Desktop 2. To move between them, you just go back into Task View and tap the one you want. Simple. But clicking icons is slow. We want speed.
The gesture secret: why your fingers are better than a mouse
The Surface Pro X is a tablet first. If you're using it without the Type Cover, you aren't going to be hunting for tiny icons on a taskbar. This is where the four-finger swipe comes in.
Place four fingers on the screen and swipe to the left or right. It feels incredibly fluid. The windows slide out of the way, and your second desktop slides in. It’s snappy. If you’re using the touchpad on the keyboard, the gesture is the same: four fingers, side to side.
I've noticed that some people struggle with the timing. You don't need to flick it fast. Just a steady move. If it isn't working, check your settings. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad (or Touch) and make sure four-finger gestures are enabled. Sometimes Windows updates toggle these off for no apparent reason, which is pretty annoying.
Keyboard shortcuts for the power user
If you have the keyboard attached, stop touching the screen. Seriously. Your hands are already on the keys. Memorize these three combinations, and you'll never look back:
- Win + Tab: This opens Task View. It's the "where am I?" button.
- Win + Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow: This is the magic move. This is how to switch desktops Surface X Pro pros do it instantly. No menus. No clicking. Just a quick snap to the next space.
- Win + Ctrl + D: Creates a new desktop immediately. Use this when you're in a meeting and need to take notes without everyone seeing your open Reddit tabs.
- Win + Ctrl + F4: Closes the current virtual desktop. Don't worry; it doesn't kill your apps. It just shoves them back onto the previous desktop.
Why the Surface Pro X is unique for this
The Pro X is an ARM device. That means it runs on a different architecture than a standard laptop. While 64-bit emulation is much better now than it was at launch, the device still has its quirks. When you switch desktops, the Windows DWM (Desktop Window Manager) has to redraw everything.
On the SQ1/SQ2 processors, native apps like Edge, Office 365, and Teams switch instantly. However, if you're running heavy emulated apps—think older versions of Creative Cloud—you might notice a slight stutter when you swipe. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something to keep in mind. If you want the smoothest experience, keep your "heavy" emulated apps on one desktop and your native ARM apps on another.
Organizing your life with custom backgrounds
One of the biggest complaints about virtual desktops used to be that they all looked the same. You'd switch and forget which one was "Work" and which was "Gaming." Windows 11 fixed this.
You can now set a different wallpaper for every single virtual desktop. Right-click on the desktop preview in Task View and hit Choose background. This is a game changer. I set my work desktop to a plain, boring dark gray to keep me focused. My personal desktop? A bright landscape. The visual cue tells my brain exactly what mode I should be in before I even look at the open windows.
Moving apps between spaces
Sometimes you open an app on the wrong desktop. It happens. You don't have to close it and reopen it. Open Task View (Win + Tab), find the window you want to move, and literally drag it with your finger or mouse onto the preview of the other desktop at the bottom.
✨ Don't miss: World Trade Center Blueprints: Why Minoru Yamasaki’s Design Was So Controversial
Alternatively, you can right-click a window in Task View. You’ll see an option to "Move to." But here’s the pro tip: if you need a specific app—like a calculator or a music player—to be available on every desktop, select "Show this window on all desktops." Now, no matter how many times you swipe, that app stays right where it is.
Troubleshooting the "Laggy" Switch
If your Surface Pro X feels like it’s chugging when you try to switch desktops, it’s usually a memory issue. The 8GB RAM model is a bit tight for heavy multitasking. Surface devices are notorious for "aggressive" power management.
Try this:
- Close unnecessary tabs in Edge. Each tab is a separate process.
- Check your startup apps. If Steam or Spotify is launching in the background, they’re eating cycles.
- Ensure your "Transparency effects" are turned off in Personalization settings if you want absolute maximum speed. The blur effect when switching desktops looks cool, but it does cost a few frames of performance on ARM hardware.
Practical ways to use this daily
Don't just make desktops for the sake of it. Have a system.
✨ Don't miss: Finding the Right Mac Pro 13 Inch Case: Why Most People Buy the Wrong One
Most successful Surface users I know use a "Triad" system. Desktop 1 is the Communications hub. Outlook, Teams, Slack. Desktop 2 is the Deep Work zone. Word, Excel, or your coding environment. Desktop 3 is References. This is where your browser lives with 40 open tabs that you might need to look at later.
By separating them, you stop the "ping-pong" effect. You aren't constantly distracted by a flashing Slack icon while trying to write a report. You have to physically make the choice to swipe over to the "distraction" desktop.
Actionable steps for your Surface Pro X
- Enable Gestures: Go to Settings and verify that four-finger swipes are active. Test it now. Swipe four fingers across the screen. If nothing happens, you've found your first fix.
- Map Your Workday: Open Task View right now. Create three desktops. Name them by right-clicking the "Desktop 1" text. Call them Work, Personal, and Admin.
- Set Distinct Wallpapers: Give each of those three desktops a different color or image. It reduces the cognitive load of switching.
- Master the Chord: Practice the Win + Ctrl + Arrow shortcut until it's muscle memory. You should be able to jump from your spreadsheet to your calendar in under a second.
- Native App Priority: Try to use ARM64 native versions of apps (like the New Outlook or the native version of Firefox/Edge) on your secondary desktops to ensure the transition animations stay buttery smooth.
Switching desktops on the Surface Pro X isn't just a neat trick; it's the only way to manage the limited screen size of a 13-inch tablet. Once you stop minimizing windows and start swiping between environments, the device feels twice as powerful.