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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?

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  • On the touchscreen you can swipe from left edge and then select the desired desktop – James Mertz Apr 22 '15 at 23:01
  • I think it's way to soon to ask for tweaks since there's no guarantee they will not implement a gesture for it (and of course any tweaks created for the Preview may break with the very next release). – Karan Apr 23 '15 at 1:21
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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)

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  • What exactly do you mean with "latest build"? In the Insider program or just the latest windows updates? – Splitframe Mar 5 '16 at 17:37
  • At this time I'm not sure, the question has been answered 3 months ago so right now the windows update alone does it(tested yesterday) – lkn2993 Mar 9 '16 at 9:43
  • Hmm weird, I run the latest W10 version ( not in insider ) and updated my I2C and PS2 Touchpad driver in the device manager via Windows Update and still can't use 4 finger swipe to change virtual desktops :( I tried original synaptics drivers, but OH MY GOD are they worse by a landslide in terms of precision and feel. – Splitframe Mar 10 '16 at 12:31
  • It seems that the synaptics touchpad driver is a little quirky, In order to make it work you also have to uninstall any touch pad drivers that were installed in your windows 8 era, then obtain the latest version(2016 version) through your laptop support site, or the synaptics download page. I guess searching about "Synaptics driver wipeout" with your laptop model inserted in the search term can help. – lkn2993 Aug 12 '16 at 8:57
  • Latest build W10 with anniversary update, HP ProBook and it's working perfectly. – Pavel Pája Halbich Sep 14 '16 at 14:56
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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

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  • 1
    Great script! I dropped it in autostart and it does exactly what I needed on my Lenovo Yoga. – domenukk Mar 2 '17 at 12:29
  • The link seems broken, I get a "Error establishing a database connection" error – SolveSoul Oct 1 '18 at 11:01
  • Link broken. the 3 fingers gesture works on my Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro but not 4 and I have windows 10 1903. – boardtc Oct 19 '19 at 20:51
  • The link is broken, but there is a a snapshot on the web archive: web.archive.org/web/20170707161121/http://www.wptutor.io/misc/… – Jannik Pitt Oct 29 '20 at 20:52
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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

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  • Error "No touchpad found" on Dell XPS 15 9550 (2016) – Pawel Jun 19 '16 at 21:36
  • MultiSwipe (v3.2) works perfect. Windows 10 x64. Lenovo with ELAN Touchpad. Thanks for the app, you saved the day ! – NeoHQ Sep 2 '16 at 19:11
  • Works great on my Yoga 900! – Steve May 15 '17 at 22:38
  • Not working on DELL LATITUDE E6530 – Martin Braun Nov 20 '17 at 11:30
  • @modiX, check out my answer for Dell – Ofiris Jan 29 '18 at 21:15
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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.

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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

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