move-win-vd

A minimal Windows utility that moves the active window to an adjacent virtual desktop.

Requirements

• Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2605) or later

Quick Start

Download

Download move-win-vd.exe from the Releases page and place it anywhere you like (e.g. C:\Tools\move-win-vd.exe).

SmartScreen warning

Because this binary is not code-signed, Windows SmartScreen may block it from running. When launched via PowerToys Keyboard Manager, it can fail silently with no error message.

To unblock the file:

1. Right-click move-win-vd.exe → Properties.
2. At the bottom of the General tab, check Unblock.
3. Click OK.

Recommended Setup: PowerToys Keyboard Manager

The most convenient way to use this tool is to bind it to keyboard shortcuts via PowerToys Keyboard Manager.

1. Install PowerToys.
2. Open PowerToys and go to Keyboard Manager → Remap a shortcut.
3. Add the following shortcuts:

Shortcut	Program	Arguments	Effect
Win + Ctrl + Alt + Right	move-win-vd.exe	r /s	Move window to next desktop and follow
Win + Ctrl + Alt + Left	move-win-vd.exe	l /s	Move window to previous desktop and follow

Tips:

• Use the full path to move-win-vd.exe in the Keyboard Manager configuration (e.g. C:\Tools\move-win-vd.exe).
• Add /w if you want wrap-around behavior at the edges.
• If you only want to move the window without switching desktops yourself, omit /s.

Command Line

move-win-vd.exe r|l [/w] [/s]

Arguments

Argument	Description
r	Move the active window to the next (right) virtual desktop
l	Move the active window to the previous (left) virtual desktop

The r or l argument is required.

Options

Option	Description
/w	Wrap around — if at the last desktop, move to the first (and vice versa)
/s	Switch — also move your view to the destination desktop

Options can be combined freely.

Examples

# Move window to the next desktop
move-win-vd.exe r

# Move window to the previous desktop, wrapping around if at the edge
move-win-vd.exe l /w

# Move window to the next desktop and follow it there
move-win-vd.exe r /s

# Move window to the previous desktop, follow it, and wrap around
move-win-vd.exe l /s /w

Troubleshooting

Shortcuts not working with PowerToys FancyZones

If you have FancyZones enabled with "Override Windows Snap" turned on, your custom shortcuts may stop working — even if those key combinations are not used by FancyZones at all. This appears to be a side effect of how FancyZones hooks into keyboard input globally when that option is enabled.

Fix: Disable "Override Windows Snap" in FancyZones settings, or reassign your shortcuts to key combinations that do not involve arrow keys.

Development

Building

cargo build --release

The binary will be at target/release/move-win-vd.exe.

Release Process

Below is the process for releasing a new version on GitHub.
Just a reminder for myself 😄

1. Go to Actions → release → Run workflow, enter the version number (e.g. 1.2.3), and run it.
   • This automatically updates Cargo.toml and Cargo.lock, commits the changes, and creates + pushes the v*.*.* tag.
   • Then, the app is built and a draft release is created.
2. Once the workflow completes, go to the GitHub releases page, find the draft release, review the content, and publish it.
3. Don't forget git pull to update your local repository with the new tag.

License

MIT