Virtual Desktop Switcher

A Windows utility that enables virtual desktop switching through mouse side-button gestures.

Features

• Gesture-based Switching: Use mouse side-button (XBUTTON1) with swipe gestures to switch virtual desktops
• Real-time Visual Feedback: Direct2D overlay displays gesture trajectory
• System Tray Integration: Tray icon with notification support and menu controls
• Customizable Settings: JSON-based configuration for sensitivity and appearance
• Singleton Architecture: Thread-safe mouse hook implementation

System Requirements

• Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
• CMake 3.15+
• Visual Studio 2019+ or compatible C++17 compiler
• Windows SDK 10.0.19041.0+

Project Structure

.
├── CMakeLists.txt              # CMake build configuration
├── README.md                   # Project documentation
├── .gitignore                  # Git ignore rules
├── doc/                        # Documentation
│   ├── virtual_desktop_switcher_architecture.md
│   └── virtual_desktop_switcher_requirements.md
├── src/                        # Source code (modular structure)
│   ├── main.cpp                # Application entry point
│   ├── DesktopManager/         # Virtual desktop operations
│   ├── GestureAnalyzer/        # Mouse gesture recognition
│   ├── MouseHook/              # Low-level mouse event capture
│   ├── OverlayUI/              # Direct2D gesture visualization
│   ├── Settings/               # JSON configuration management
│   ├── TrayIcon/               # System tray integration
│   └── res/                    # Application resources
│       └── favicon.ico         # Application icon
├── third_party/                # External dependencies
│   └── nlohmann/               # JSON library
│       └── json.hpp
└── build/                      # Build output directory

Build Instructions

Prerequisites

• Install Visual Studio 2019 or later with C++ development tools
• Ensure Windows SDK is installed
• Install CMake 3.15 or later

Build Steps

# Create build directory
mkdir build
cd build

# Configure project
cmake ..

# Build release version
cmake --build . --config Release

# Optional: Build debug version
cmake --build . --config Debug

Configuration

The application uses config.json for settings. Default location: %APPDATA%\VirtualDesktopSwitcher\config.json

Available Settings

{
  "gestureSensitivity": 5,
  "overlayColor": "#FF0000FF"
}

Configuration Details

• gestureSensitivity: Controls the sensitivity of gesture detection (1-10). Higher values make it easier to detect gestures.
• overlayColor: Sets the color of the gesture trail visualization in #RRGGBBAA format (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha).
  • The MouseTrailRenderer uses this color for the gesture trajectory visualization.
  • The alpha channel controls the transparency (00 = fully transparent, FF = fully opaque).
  • The line width of the gesture trail is also dynamically adjusted based on the sensitivity setting.

Usage

1. Build the application using the instructions above
2. Run the generated executable
3. The application will start minimized to system tray
4. Use mouse side-button (usually back button) with swipe gestures:
   • Swipe left: Switch to previous virtual desktop
   • Swipe right: Switch to next virtual desktop

Development Guidelines

This project follows modern C++ best practices:

• C++17 standard compliance
• SOLID design principles
• RAII resource management
• Singleton and Observer patterns
• Doxygen-style documentation
• Modular architecture with clear separation of concerns

Dependencies

• nlohmann/json: Header-only JSON library for configuration management
• spdlog: Logging library (referenced in code)
• Windows API: System-level functionality

License

This project is provided for educational and development purposes.