Move Window Between Desktops

Windows 10 and 11 let you switch between virtual desktops using Ctrl + Win + Arrow, but they don’t offer a built-in shortcut for moving the currently active window between desktops. This lightweight utility fills that gap by letting you send the active window to the next or previous virtual desktop with a single keyboard shortcut. It makes managing multiple workspaces far more efficient and dramatically improves your workflow.

Demo GIF moving window — Moving **Task Manager** across virtual desktops I to VI with **Ctrl + Shift + Win + Right Arrow**

Keyboard Shortcuts

Because laptop keyboards include an Fn key between Ctrl and Win keys while desktop keyboards do not, alternative hotkeys were added to maintain consistent finger distance across devices.

Move Window Across Virtual Desktops

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Shift + Win + →`	Move window to next desktop (Windows style)
`Ctrl + Shift + Win + ←`	Move window to previous desktop (Windows style)
`Ctrl + Shift + Alt + →`	Move window to next desktop (alternative style)
`Ctrl + Shift + Alt + ←`	Move window to previous desktop (alternative style)

Switch Virtual Desktops

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Win + →`	Switch to next desktop (native Windows)
`Ctrl + Win + ←`	Switch to previous desktop (native Windows)
`Ctrl + Alt + →`	Switch to next desktop (alternative style)
`Ctrl + Alt + ←`	Switch to previous desktop (alternative style)

Quick Start

Download for Windows 10/11

Current stable release — open source and freely available on Codeberg, with ... total downloads across all versions. Enhance your Windows workflow today.

Install with WinGet (command line)

Run PowerShell and type the following commands:

winget install FAI-Solutions.move-window-between-desktops

During installation, you’ll be prompted for elevated privileges. Accept to enable moving elevated apps (e.g., Task Manager). After installation, the folder opens—double-click move-window-between-desktop.exe to run. To upgrade (also works if installed via setup.exe), enter the following in PowerShell:

winget update FAI-Solutions.move-window-between-desktops

Install with Scoop (command line)

Get Scoop here! Open PowerShell as Administrator to install the AHK source file. Run the commands below:

scoop bucket add fai-solutions https://codeberg.org/FAI-Solutions/scoop-bucket

scoop install move-window-between-desktops

Then double click setup-autostart.ahk as Administrator to enable autostart and the main script.

Manual Install

Download and install AutoHotkey v2 (if not already installed)
Download the following files directly (right-click → “Save link as”):
move-window-between-desktops.ahk
setup-autostart.ahk
or download them from the releases page
Find and download the matching VirtualDesktopAccessor.dll for your Windows build (Settings → System → About → check “OS build”) from VirtualDesktopAccessor's release page

Place all three files together:

📁 MoveWindowBetweenDesktops/
   ├── move-window-between-desktops.ahk  (main script)
   ├── setup-autostart.ahk               (autostart configuration)
   └── VirtualDesktopAccessor.dll        (Windows API bridge)

Run setup-autostart.ahk as Administrator — this sets up autostart and launches the script

💡 Note: Running as Admin allows moving elevated windows (like Task Manager). Without Admin, the script works for regular windows only.

Troubleshooting

Windows Defender / SmartScreen warning

As a new, unsigned application, Windows Defender may show a warning. Click More info → Run anyway, or Allow to proceed. This is common for open-source software without a paid code-signing certificate.

Need help?

If you encounter issues, please visit the issue tracker and describe your problem — include your Windows version (Settings → System → About → check “OS build”).

Repository

The complete source code, issue tracker, and release history are hosted on Codeberg, with a mirror available on GitHub:
https://codeberg.org/FAI-Solutions/move-window-between-desktops
https://github.com/FAI-Solutions/move-window-between-desktops