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Within Mission Control you can view all of your active windows and assign them to different ‘Desktops’ (this is the new Lion terminology for Spaces). You can also set up new Desktops, flick between them with a multi-touch gesture and delete them with ease. Follow this step-by-step tutorial to see how to get the most out of one of Lion’s best new features. It really can help you keep your work and play space more organised and clutter free.
Step 1: A screen with a view
Launch Mission Control via the dock icon, the F3 key, or through Launchpad. You’ll see all of your active windows grouped by app.
Step 2: Double your desktops
To add a new desktop (they used to be called Spaces), simply hover your mouse in the top-right corner of the screen and click the plus icon.
Step 3: Organise your windows
Drag an active window on to any of the desktops at the top of Mission Control. You can have any number of apps or windows in each desktop.
Step 4: Desktops galore
Once a desktop is looking cluttered, simply add another. You can have up to sixteen in total, so there’s plenty of room for all of your windows.
Step 5: Background basics
You can change the background of any one of your desktops; this is useful for differentiating between projects as well as personal and professional work.
Step 6: A space for full-screen
When you put an app into full-screen it will create its own space; you’ll see this in Mission Control but you wont be able to drop other windows into it.
Step 7: Swipe through screens
Use a three-fingered swipe to switch between spaces. This allows your to quickly move windows between different desktops.
Step 8: Customise with preferences
Under the Mission Control pane in System Preferences you’ll find ways to edit Mission Control keyboard shortcuts as well as Hot Corners.
Step 9: Decide on Dashboard
In Lion, Dashboard occupies its own space by default. If you don’t like this, however, simply uncheck its relevant checkbox.
Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations.
This tutorial is the third in our Learn Lion Week series, for more articles just like this visit the Learn Lion Week tag. At the end of the week, we’ll be giving away a prize to one lucky person who gets in touch with a question or problem related to OS X Lion. To get involved, simply tweet your question, plus the hashtag #LearnLionWeek, to @iCreateMagazine or post on our Facebook wall.
