This a collection of AutoHotkey scripts with which you can switch directly to Windows 10 / 11 virtual desktops with Ctrl+Alt+NUM. Your currently active desktop number will be shown in the systray.

Ensure that you have AutoHotkey installed.

Then download this git repo and the two required submodules:

git clone [email protected]:cpbotha/vxdesktops.ahk.git
cd vxdesktops.ahk
git submodule update --init --recursive

In the vxdesktops.ahk folder, double-click on the vxdesktops.ahk script.

In Windows settings under "Personalization - Taskbar - Taskbar corner overflow" ensure that AutoHotkey is set to "On".

You should now see a numbered icon in the systray.

You can switch to desktop 1 to 7 with the hotkey Ctrl+Alt+NUM.

Thanks to the VD.ahk library, desktops are switched using the Windows 10 / 11 API calls, and so this is usually almost instantaneous.

However, if you have different wallpaper images on your virtual desktops (a new Windows 11 feature IIUC), it can slow down switching significantly.

For best performance, please ensure you have the same wallpaper image on all desktops.

For more background, see this forum post