The latest beta update SteamVR has made improvements in how users can use the desktop of your PC in virtual reality via SteamVR control panel. You can now choose to display certain apps and not the entire desktop and reinforce types of Windows on the controllers that will be stored inside your VR apps.
SteamVR has long supported the ability to easily view and interact with the desktop of your PC using control panel, but the latest beta update version 1.17.2 adds a simple, but powerful new feature.
First, it is the ability to add separate Windows on the control panel SteamVR that allows you to easily switch between individual apps, as well as to switch between multiple monitors.
Second, any of representations of the virtual desktop, including separate applications that can be attached to your right or left controller. This leads to the fact that the window will remain inside your VR app, even if you close the control panel SteamVR. It is useful for background applications such as chat or video feed easily viewable, even when they are inside the headset. You can also interact with the application attached to your hand, using the virtual pointer (when your open the toolbar). Below you can see the new feature in action:
If you want to get the preview for yourself, here’s how to do it :
To join the beta version of SteamVR
- In the list of games on Steam then right-click SteamVR> Properties> select “Beta”.
- In the drop-down list, select “Update of the beta version of SteamVR”.
- Allow SteamVR to be updated.
New functionality of the control panel SteamVR is already quite useful, but it also looks like a sign of what lies ahead. For example, right now there’s only room for four common views, virtual desktops (whether desktops or view applications), while additional views have no place to display a new button. It is likely that in the future, the interface will change to display more views.
In addition, the only way to allow the application to remain visible until the control panel is closed, is to bind them to your controller. For some games (especially sitting) it would be better to just put a window in the selected location. It seems like a logical next step in this work, so it would be nice to see him in future updates.
In the beginning of last year, Valve said it plans to run SteamVR 2.0 in 2020. Although since then there have been a number of improvements, it seems that the company has not achieved this goal, as it still uses a version number of 1.xx. However, gradually improving the control panel options and full support for OpenXR seems a lot of steps to “2.0”.
