Always On Top

Overview

Always On Top allows you to pin windows so they remain visible above all other windows. Pinned windows display an optional colored border and support transparency adjustments, making it easy to keep important information visible while working.

Always On Top uses the Windows WS_EX_TOPMOST extended window style to keep windows above others.

Activation

Enable the Utility

Open PowerToys Settings and enable Always On Top in the utilities list

Pin a Window

Activate the foreground window using the configured hotkey (default: Win+Ctrl+T)

Verify Visual Border

A colored border appears around pinned windows (if enabled in settings)

Key Features

Window Pinning

Pin any window to keep it always on top:

// Core pinning implementation (AlwaysOnTop.cpp:605)
bool AlwaysOnTop::PinTopmostWindow(HWND window) const noexcept
{
    if (!SetProp(window, WINDOW_IS_PINNED_PROP, reinterpret_cast<HANDLE>(1)))
    {
        Logger::error(L"SetProp failed");
    }
    
    auto res = SetWindowPos(window, HWND_TOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, 
                           SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOSIZE);
    return res;
}

Pin/Unpin

Toggle window topmost state with hotkeyDefault: Win+Ctrl+T

Visual Border

Optional colored frame around pinned windowsConfigurable thickness and color

Transparency Control

Adjust window opacity with keyboard shortcutsIncrease: Win+Ctrl++Decrease: Win+Ctrl+-

System Menu Integration

Add “Always on top” option to window system menusRight-click title bar to access

Transparency Adjustment

Fine-tune window opacity for pinned windows:

// Transparency stepping (AlwaysOnTop.cpp:856)
void AlwaysOnTop::StepWindowTransparency(HWND window, int delta)
{
    int currentTransparency = maxTransparencyPercentage;
    
    // Get current alpha value
    if (exStyle & WS_EX_LAYERED)
    {
        GetLayeredWindowAttributes(window, nullptr, &alpha, nullptr);
        currentTransparency = (alpha * 100) / 255;
    }
    
    // Step by configured amount (default: 10%)
    int newTransparency = clamp(currentTransparency + delta, 
                                minTransparencyPercentage, 
                                maxTransparencyPercentage);
    
    ApplyWindowAlpha(window, newTransparency);
}

Transparency range: 10% to 100% (configurable step size)

Visual Border Options

Customize the appearance of pinned window borders:

Border Thickness: Adjustable pixel width
Border Color: Choose from predefined colors or custom RGB
Border Style: Solid outline around window perimeter
Virtual Desktop Aware: Borders only appear on current desktop

When enabled, Always On Top adds a “Pin window” option to every window’s system menu:

Right-click on any window’s title bar
Select “Always on top” from the menu
Window is pinned with checkmark indicator

// System menu integration (AlwaysOnTop.cpp:516)
void AlwaysOnTop::UpdateSystemMenuItem(HWND window) const noexcept
{
    const auto systemMenu = GetSystemMenu(window, false);
    
    MENUITEMINFOW menuItemInfo{};
    menuItemInfo.cbSize = sizeof(menuItemInfo);
    menuItemInfo.fMask = MIIM_ID | MIIM_STATE | MIIM_STRING;
    menuItemInfo.wID = SYSTEM_MENU_TOGGLE_ALWAYS_ON_TOP_COMMAND;
    menuItemInfo.fState = IsPinned(window) ? MFS_CHECKED : MFS_UNCHECKED;
    
    InsertMenuItemW(systemMenu, SC_CLOSE, FALSE, &menuItemInfo);
}

Configuration

Settings Location

Settings are stored in:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\AlwaysOnTop\settings.json

Available Options

hotkey

object

required

Keyboard shortcut to pin/unpin windowsDefault: Win+Ctrl+T

{
  "win": true,
  "ctrl": true,
  "shift": false,
  "code": 84
}

enableFrame

boolean

default:"true"

Show colored border around pinned windows

frameThickness

number

default:"5"

Border width in pixels

frameColor

string

default:"#0078D7"

Border color in hex format

enableSound

boolean

default:"true"

Play sound when pinning/unpinning windows

Add toggle option to window system menus

blockInGameMode

boolean

default:"false"

Disable Always On Top when Windows Game Mode is active

excludedApps

array

default:"[]"

List of applications to exclude from Always On Top

[
  "notepad.exe",
  "calc.exe"
]

Excluding Applications

Prevent specific applications from being pinned:

Open PowerToys Settings
Navigate to Always On Top
Scroll to “Excluded apps”
Click “Add application”
Select the executable or enter process name

Use Cases

Video Conferencing

Pin Meeting Controls

Keep Zoom/Teams control panel visible while presenting

Adjust Transparency

Make controls semi-transparent to see content behind themPress Win+Ctrl+- to decrease opacity

Position Window

Move control panel to screen corner for minimal obstruction

Reference Documentation

Keep documentation visible while coding:

Scenario: Web Development

┌─────────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ Browser DevTools    │  │ VS Code Editor           │
│ (Pinned + 70% α)    │  │                          │
│                     │  │                          │
│ Console logs        │  │  function handleClick()  │
│ Network requests    │  │  {                       │
└─────────────────────┘  │    // Implementation     │
   Always visible        │  }                       │
                          └──────────────────────────┘

Monitoring Dashboards

System Monitoring

Pin Task Manager or Resource Monitor to track performance during testing

Chat Applications

Keep Slack or Teams chat visible for incoming messages

Timers & Clocks

Pin timer applications for time-sensitive tasks

Media Controls

Keep music player controls accessible while working

Multi-Monitor Workflows

Optimize screen real estate:

Pin small utility windows on primary monitor
Use transparency to maintain visibility of background work
Quick-pin reference windows when switching focus

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Win+Ctrl+T`	Pin/Unpin active window (default)
`Win+Ctrl++`	Increase window transparency (same modifiers as pin hotkey)
`Win+Ctrl+-`	Decrease window transparency (same modifiers as pin hotkey)

Transparency shortcuts use the same modifier keys as the configured pin hotkey.

Technical Details

Window Event Handling

Always On Top subscribes to multiple Windows events:

// Event subscriptions (AlwaysOnTop.cpp:450)
std::array<DWORD, 7> events_to_subscribe = {
    EVENT_OBJECT_LOCATIONCHANGE,  // Window moved/resized
    EVENT_SYSTEM_MINIMIZESTART,   // Window minimized
    EVENT_SYSTEM_MINIMIZEEND,     // Window restored
    EVENT_SYSTEM_MOVESIZEEND,     // Move/resize completed
    EVENT_SYSTEM_FOREGROUND,      // Window became foreground
    EVENT_OBJECT_DESTROY,         // Window closed
    EVENT_OBJECT_FOCUS,           // Window gained focus
};

Border Rendering

Borders are implemented as separate layered windows that follow the pinned window:

Uses WS_EX_LAYERED and WS_EX_TRANSPARENT extended styles
Updates position on EVENT_OBJECT_LOCATIONCHANGE
Automatically hides when pinned window is minimized
DPI-aware for high-resolution displays

Virtual Desktop Support

Always On Top is virtual desktop aware:

// Virtual desktop handling (AlwaysOnTop.cpp:324)
bool AlwaysOnTop::AssignBorder(HWND window)
{
    if (m_virtualDesktopUtils.IsWindowOnCurrentDesktop(window) && 
        AlwaysOnTopSettings::settings().enableFrame)
    {
        auto border = WindowBorder::Create(window, m_hinstance);
        if (border)
        {
            m_topmostWindows[window] = std::move(border);
        }
    }
    return true;
}

Elevation Awareness

When a pinned window is elevated and PowerToys is not, Always On Top shows a notification:

Warns about potential issues with elevated windows
Provides option to run PowerToys as administrator
“Don’t show again” checkbox for user preference

Troubleshooting

Border not showing around pinned window

Possible causes:

Border feature disabled in settings
Window on different virtual desktop
DPI scaling issues

Solutions:

Check “Show border around pinned windows” in settings
Verify window is on current virtual desktop
Try adjusting border thickness (src/modules/alwaysontop/AlwaysOnTop/AlwaysOnTop.cpp:159)

Window won't stay on top

Possible causes:

Application in excluded apps list
Game Mode is active (if blocking enabled)
Elevated window with PowerToys not elevated

Solutions:

Check excluded apps list in settings
Disable “Block in Game Mode” if needed
Run PowerToys as administrator (src/modules/alwaysontop/AlwaysOnTop/AlwaysOnTop.cpp:789)

Transparency controls not working

Transparency only works on pinned windows

Ensure window is pinned first (has border or system menu checkmark)
Use the transparency hotkeys: Win+Ctrl+Plus / Win+Ctrl+Minus
Check that modifiers match your pin hotkey configuration

Implementation reference: src/modules/alwaysontop/AlwaysOnTop/AlwaysOnTop.cpp:839

System menu option not appearing

Get Started

Core Utilities

Mouse & Input

Productivity Tools

Configuration

Community & Support

Overview

Activation

Key Features

Window Pinning

Pin/Unpin

Visual Border

Transparency Control

System Menu Integration

Transparency Adjustment

Visual Border Options

System Menu Integration

Configuration

Settings Location

Available Options

Excluding Applications

Use Cases

Video Conferencing

Reference Documentation

Monitoring Dashboards

System Monitoring

Chat Applications

Timers & Clocks

Media Controls

Multi-Monitor Workflows

Keyboard Shortcuts

Technical Details

Window Event Handling

Border Rendering

Virtual Desktop Support

Elevation Awareness

Troubleshooting

See Also

Get Started

Core Utilities

Mouse & Input

Productivity Tools

Configuration

Community & Support

​Overview

​Activation

​Key Features

​Window Pinning

Pin/Unpin

Visual Border

Transparency Control

System Menu Integration

​Transparency Adjustment

​Visual Border Options

​System Menu Integration

​Configuration

​Settings Location

​Available Options

​Excluding Applications

​Use Cases

​Video Conferencing

​Reference Documentation

​Monitoring Dashboards

System Monitoring

Chat Applications

Timers & Clocks

Media Controls

​Multi-Monitor Workflows

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Technical Details

​Window Event Handling

​Border Rendering

​Virtual Desktop Support

​Elevation Awareness

​Troubleshooting

​See Also

Overview

Activation

Key Features

Window Pinning

Transparency Adjustment

Visual Border Options

System Menu Integration

Configuration

Settings Location

Available Options

Excluding Applications

Use Cases

Video Conferencing

Reference Documentation

Monitoring Dashboards

Multi-Monitor Workflows

Keyboard Shortcuts

Technical Details

Window Event Handling

Border Rendering

Virtual Desktop Support

Elevation Awareness

Troubleshooting

See Also