<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="ui"
      id="shell-workspaces">

  <info>

    <link type="guide" xref="shell-windows#working-with-workspaces" group="#first"/>
    
    <desc>Workspaces are a way of grouping windows on your desktop.</desc>

    <revision pkgversion="3.2" date="2011-09-24" status="candidate"/>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>gnome-doc-list@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
    
  </info>

<title>What is a workspace, and how will it help me?</title>

<media type="image" src="figures/shell-workspaces.png"
       width="104" height="300" style="floatend floatright">
  <p>Workspace selector</p>
</media>

  <p>Workspaces refer to the grouping of windows on your desktop. You can create
 many workspaces, which act like virtual desktops. Workspaces are meant to reduce
 clutter and make the desktop easier to navigate.</p>

  <p>Workspaces can be used to organize your work. For example, you could have
 all your communication windows, such as e-mail and your chat program, on one
 workspace, and the work you are doing on a different workspace. Your music
 manager could be on a third workspace.</p>

<p>Using workspaces:</p>
 
<list>
 <item>
  <p>In the <gui>Activities</gui> overview, move your cursor to the right-most side of the screen. A vertical panel will appear showing workspaces in use, plus an empty workspace. This is the <link xref="shell-terminology">workspace selector</link>.</p>
 </item>
 <item>
  <p>To add a workspace, drag and drop a window from an existing workspace onto
 the empty workspace in the workspace selector. This workspace now contains the
 window you dropped into it, and a new empty workspace will appear below it.</p>
 </item>
 <item>
  <p>To remove a workspace simply close all of its windows or move them to other
 workspaces.</p>
 </item>
</list>

<p>There is always at least one workspace.</p>

</page>
