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Windows 10 introduces virtual desktops, some sort of equivalent of Mission Control on OS X. You can switch between the desktops using the Task view or using Ctrl+Windows+Left/Right.

But I have been wondering if it is possible to switch with touchpad gesture, with a three-fingers swipe (like on OS X), which will be far more convenient. I don't think Microsoft will implement that before the release :(, it will probably need a tweak.

I have looked for some software to do that, but I haven't find anything. I tried to install a modded driver for my Synaptics touchpad in order to change the gestures' actions, but without success.

Does any of you have an idea about how to achieve that?

Fred
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5 Answers5

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Confirmed to work in the latest build of windows:

  • Use 4 fingers on touchpad, place them gently on touchpad together and slightly move them to left or right; Which causes the virtual desktop to be switched.(like windows key + tab). Takes some time getting used to but in the end you will end up creating even more virtual desktops for yourself.
  • Use 3 fingers on touchpad with same gesture to switch between apps(like alt + tab)

Remember though that in order for the new gestures to work, you have to install a windows 10 compatible touchpad driver, which is probably obtainable through windows update.

If not, you can manually update your touchpad driver via device manager(right click and press update)

lkn2993
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I recently wanted to figure out how to do this on my Lenovo Thinkpad L440, so I wrote an AutoHotkey script to do it. This should work on any laptop with a Synaptics touchpad: https://www.wptutor.io/misc/windows-virtual-desktop-swipe-gestures

Leo Jiang
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I made a tool for this so that I didn't need to keep reaching for the keyboard when I was using vmware or some other program that ran on its own desktop, what it does is map keyboard keys to your touchpads 3 finger or 4 finger directional swipes, so you can map Ctrl+Windows+Left/Right to the left and right swipes to change desktops, I'll leave a link so that you can check it out and see if you like it.

MultiSwipe

UserName
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On Dell laptops, open the Dell Touchpad program and enable Four Finger Swipe under Multi Finger Gestures:

enter image description here

Ofiris
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I have an asus laptop and use a program called "Asus Smart Gesture" which allows you to set a bunch of motion gestures on your touchpad. Using this, I found that swiping the touchpad with 4 fingers will switch between desktops. Try to download it for your computer at https://www.asus.com/support/Download/3/664/0/1/B54QCgYKVgEix639/CPUDRIVER_Ix-4xxxxU/41/

I don't know if it will work for you, but it did for me and I love it.

David
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