Windows and Workspaces on Linux
Written on Jul 23, 2026
There are multiple ways to navigate windows and workspaces (or virtual desktops) on Linux. Many Linux users ignore workspaces completely. While I don't ignore them, I don't use them as much as I could.
I would probably be inclined to frequently use workspaces if the Cinnamon desktop environment supported session restore. It's the only desktop environment offered by Linux Mint that doesn't support it.
Alt-Tab vs Workspace Navigation
Like many other people in my age group (senior citizens), I started out using Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows didn't have virtual desktops at the time. Perhaps things would have turned out differently if it did. Instead, I learned to flip through windows with the alt-tab key combination.
Once I learned how to use a mouse, I started using alt-tab a lot less. Today, I only use it when I need to flip between two applications. An example is the text editor I use to type articles and the web browser displaying the local host web site: Type-flip-reload-flip-repeat.
I sometimes use workspaces even though I'm not doing anything even close to resembling work. On occasion, I'll move applications that I might only have to look at every hour or so. My music player is one example. I don't need to see it while listening to a playlist.
I spent some time, a couple of years ago, trying to figure out how to move windows to various workspaces automatically. While I was successful, I soon realized I didn't need that automation. I have no problem using multiple applications on the default workspace.
Window Navigation
Alt-tab is the keyboard way of moving from application to application on a single workspace. Panels (or taskbars) usually display one or more icons indicating open applications. Clicking on an icon with a mouse is an easy way to switch to an open application.
On some Linux distributions, alt-tab can include applications from one or all of the workspaces being used. The same thing with the panel. There are applets and extensions available with the Cinnamon desktop environment that can be even more selective.
Workspace Navigation
I'm not familiar with desktop environments other than Cinnamon. With Cinnamon, there's an "Expo" applet that can show all of the workspaces available. The Ctrl+Alt+Up keyboard combination will do the same thing. The desired workspace can be selected from that screen.
There are other applets that allow workspace navigation, along with keyboard combinations to cycle through them. Other desktop environments have the same capabilities even if I can't explain how they're implemented.
Image by Boby Pogy from Pixabay