How PowerToys workspaces work in Windows

If you use Windows daily and always start your day by opening the same applications in the same places on the screen , PowerToys' workspaces will sound like music to your ears. This new utility was created precisely to automate that ritual of opening programs, placing them, and adjusting them for each type of task.

With PowerToys Workspaces, you can save your entire desktop layout as a "scene" and later rebuild it with a single click . Imagine having one space for working, another for studying, another for development or video editing, and switching between them without having to rearrange anything each time.

What are PowerToys work areas and what are they used for?

Workspaces are a desktop management utility included in Microsoft PowerToys that allows you to automatically launch a set of applications with a specific position and configuration . Each combination of apps and their windows is saved as a reusable workspace.

In practice, a workspace is a "snapshot" of your desktop: which programs are open, how they're arranged on the screen, whether they're maximized, minimized, or a specific size , and even what settings they're launched with. You can then "reveal" this snapshot whenever you want.

The goal of this feature is to get you to your ideal desktop setup for each activity faster. You stop wasting time manually opening Outlook , your browser, code editor, or music player, and have them ready exactly as you saved them with a single click from the editor or a desktop shortcut.

This utility integrates with the rest of PowerToys and internally uses the FancyZones engine to reposition windows, thus taking advantage of the same advanced window organization logic already used by many advanced Windows users.

Microsoft PowerToys prerequisites and installation

Before trying out the workspaces, you need to have the Microsoft PowerToys suite installed. This is a set of free and open-source tools for advanced Windows users , officially maintained by Microsoft and designed to optimize productivity.

PowerToys is compatible with Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later and with any edition of Windows 11. If you are using older versions of the system, the utility is not supported. Regarding hardware , it works on both x64 and ARM64 architectures, so it is also compatible with many modern laptops with ARM processors.

Installation can be done from the Microsoft Store by searching for “PowerToys” or by downloading the .exe installer from the official GitHub repository in the Releases section. For IT departments, the installer supports silent deployments and is easy to integrate with tools like Intune or SCCM.

A key advantage in professional environments is that each PowerToys module can be activated or deactivated separately, allowing compliance with corporate security and standardization policies . The suite can be deployed with only the utilities required, including or excluding Workspaces as needed.

How to activate work areas in PowerToys

Once PowerToys is installed, the first step to using this feature is to enable the Workspaces module from within the application. Open PowerToys, and in the left panel, you'll see the complete list of utilities available in your installed version.

In that list, locate the entry called “Workspaces” . Selecting it will display a brief description of the tool, the toggle switch to activate it, and several basic configuration options, such as the keyboard shortcut to open the editor.

Activate the "Enable workspaces" switch if it's currently disabled. From this point on, the utility will be available, and you can open its editor by clicking the corresponding button or using the configured keyboard shortcut . By default, the official documentation indicates Win + (configurable shortcut), and some users have seen shortcuts like Win + Ctrl + Ñ, which you can change as you prefer.

To modify the shortcut, click on the "Activation Key Combination" control and press the desired key sequence on your keyboard. PowerToys will register this shortcut to launch the workspace editor , providing easy access without having to go through the main interface.

Create a new workspace step by step

The heart of this utility lies in the Workspaces editor. From the PowerToys settings, click "Open editor" or "Launch editor" within the Workspaces section. You can also use the global shortcut you've configured to open the editor directly.

The first time you log in, you'll see an empty window, as you haven't saved any workspace yet. To begin the process, click the "Create workspace" button (+ Create workspace) . This activates the capture experience, and your desktop becomes your canvas: you can use it as normal to prepare the design you want to save.

In this phase, open the applications you usually use for that specific scenario: for example, the browser, Teams, a spreadsheet and an email client for your office workspace, or Visual Studio Code, Terminal and the browser for a development area.

Next, place each window in the desired area of ​​the screen. You can combine this with FancyZones if you already work with grid or custom column window layouts , or simply adjust sizes manually as you normally would. Everything currently on your desktop (including minimized windows) will be included in the capture.

Once your desktop looks exactly as you want it to appear in the future, press the "Capture" button . PowerToys will then record the open applications and their positions. You'll then return to the editor, but with your new workspace ready for further refinement and customization.

Customize the workspace in the editor

After capturing the desktop, the editor displays a list of all applications detected in that session. Each application appears with its icon, name, and a series of drop-down controls to adjust its behavior when the workspace is launched.

The first thing to do is give this setting a meaningful name. In the top left corner of the editor, you can type a descriptive name, such as "Office Work," "Study," "Video Editing," or whatever you prefer. This will help you quickly identify each space when you have several.

In each application entry, you'll see a small arrow or drop-down menu. Opening it gives you options to remove that app from the workspace, adjust its exact position and size on the screen , define its initial state (maximized, normal, or minimized), and even add command -line arguments (CLI) to launch it in a specific way.

CLI arguments are especially useful with tools like Visual Studio Code, Windows Terminal, or web browsers, as they allow you to open specific files, folders, or profiles when launching the workspace configuration . For example, you can have VS Code directly open a specific repository or have Terminal launch a particular Ubuntu or PowerShell profile.

Additionally, from this editor you can choose whether to create a desktop shortcut for that workspace . If you select the corresponding option, PowerToys will generate a .lnk file that you can run whenever you want, and even pin to the taskbar to have the workspace just a click away.

Using CLI arguments and launching as administrator

One of Workspaces' strengths is its support for command-line interface (CLI) arguments for each application. In each app's dropdown menu, you can specify these parameters so they are passed to the executable at startup.

The syntax for these arguments depends on the program. For example, in Visual Studio Code, you can use `--reuse-window` to reuse an already open window instead of creating a new instance, or specify a folder or file path to open automatically. In Terminal, you can specify the profile you want to launch (for example, Ubuntu) or commands to run at startup.

This allows you to design very fine workspaces, where not only does "the code editor" open, but the exact project you are working on opens , along with the terminal in the environment you need and the browser on the key pages of your workflow.

Additionally, the editor includes a "Start as administrator" option available for each application. If you enable this for a specific app, when you launch the workspace, the User Account Control (UAC) dialog box will appear , asking for confirmation before running that tool with elevated privileges.

This option is very useful if you work with administration consoles, development tools that require elevated permissions, or system management applications, as they integrate directly into your workspace's automated routine without having to right-click → Run as administrator every time.

How to start an existing workspace

Once you've saved your configuration, putting it into action is very simple. From the Workspaces editor itself, you can see the list of areas you've created, and next to each one, a "Launch" button . Clicking it will start PowerToys opening or rearranging the applications according to your saved settings.

If you created a shortcut on your desktop, simply double-clicking it will launch the corresponding workspace. Like any other shortcut, you can also pin it to the taskbar for even easier access. This is especially convenient if you frequently switch between different workspaces within the same session.

During launch, PowerToys displays a floating window showing the process status. For each application, three possible states are visually indicated: the app has successfully started and repositioned , the app is starting and moving, or an error has occurred and it has failed to start.

This status window will close automatically once all applications are in place, but you can close it manually at any time. From this window, you can also cancel the startup of the workspace if needed, for example, if an application is unresponsive or you prefer to abort the process.

Keep in mind that some Windows limitations prevent PowerToys from directly ordering an application to appear in a specific position. Instead, the tool launches the app and then moves and resizes the window on the fly . This sometimes causes the window to "jump" around the screen, which is normal given how the system works.

Edit and refine an existing workspace

It's quite common that, with use, you'll want to adjust an existing workspace: add a new application, remove one, or change how the windows are arranged. To do this, simply open the Workspaces editor from PowerToys and select the workspace you want to modify from the list.

When you enter the edit view of that configuration, you'll see the list of apps with the same options as when it was created. You can delete entries, add CLI arguments, change window sizes and states, or enable/disable administrator startup for each program.

If you want to redesign the desktop in a more visual way, you have the "Launch and edit" option available. When you use it, PowerToys first launches the workspace as configured and then lets you repeat the desktop capture experience from scratch , just like during the initial creation.

This way you can reposition windows directly on the desktop, close or open new applications, and then recapture the set to update the workspace definition without having to manually touch each position and size value.

When you've finished making changes, don't forget to save the settings. From then on, every time you launch that Workspace, you'll see the new design, with all the apps and settings you adjusted in the last edit.

Behavior with existing windows and multiple instances

Not all applications react the same way when they launch if they already have an instance open on the desktop. Some reuse the existing window and simply bring it to the front; others, however, create a new instance by default . This behavior directly affects how your workspaces are rebuilt.

In each area's settings, there's an option called "Move existing windows." If you enable it, PowerToys will attempt to reposition already open windows of those applications in the defined locations within the Workspace, and will only launch new instances for the missing apps.

This prevents unnecessary duplicates when you're already working with certain tools. For example, if you already have your browser open and you're part of a workspace, the function will try to move that window to the corresponding slot instead of opening a new browser window.

For specific cases, CLI arguments are key. Visual Studio Code, for example, by default opens a new window when invoked from the command line, but if you prefer to reuse the existing one, you can add the `--reuse-window` argument to that app's settings within the workspace.

The general recommendation is that you take advantage of the application's own options (CLI parameters, profiles, instance configuration) to align its behavior with what you expect from your Workspace, thus maximizing the consistency of your work environments.