I am really growing to like the XFCE+compiz configuration now. It’s turning out to be a lot more than just the eye-candy that I thought it would be…
Compiz Expo: Showing off six desktops
I haven’t fooled around enough with window managers to know how commonly used a feature this is - compiz lets you allot windows to workspaces, and even fix their positions inside them. For instance, when I fire up firefox, I can be sure that it lands in the desktop in the second row and second column of that picture above. I can do this for a large selection of the applications I use most frequently… organized by work flow, this makes the kind of difference that is slight but noticeable - and curiously satisfying. I am familiar with the feature from the Mac UI, but never noticed it on Gnome/IceWM/KDE/fvwm.
Window Placement Options in the Compiz Settings Manager
If you want compiz to place your windows on different desktops, go to the window management category and look up Window Placement; it allows you to specify rules according to which you want to your windows to be classified so you can have them on different virtual workspaces.
Go rule!