OnTopper is a lightweight always-on-top Windows app

Martin Brinkmann
Feb 17, 2020
Updated • Feb 19, 2020
Software
|
16

Tiny programs have a special place in my heart; you can check out our list of great 100K or less applications that I created back in 2010 as a good start to get going.

OnTopper is a free program for Microsoft Windows devices to set program windows to be always on top on the system. It is a handy option to make sure that a specific window is always visible regardless of whether it is the active program or not on the system.

You can use it to keep a media player, news ticker, or browser window on top all the time for example.

Tip: check out alternatives such as PinWin or OnTopReplica.

OnTopper

ontopper

OnTopper is available as an installer (1.4 Megabytes in site), and a standalone application that has a size of less than 50 Kilobytes. Check the raw folder on the download page on the Sourceforge project website to download the standalone version.

Note: Windows SmartScreen may display a warning when you download the program or execute it on the system. A scan on Virustotal revealed 4 hits by lesser known antivirus engines and it appears that these are false positives.

The program displays a list of all processes on the system on start. You may browse the list manually or use the search to find a particular process. Note that search only finds item that begin with the string that you enter. If you are looking for QuiteRSS, you won't find it if you type RSS but will find it if you type quite.

Select "set top" to set a particular program window to be always on top. You may undo that by selecting "unset top" in the program interface. The "set this" button sets the OnTopper window to always on top, and the update button refreshes the list of processes to include those started after you have started the OnTopper application.

Closing Words

OnTopper is a useful lightweight program for Windows to set program windows to be on top all the time. The program could use a couple of tweaks that make it more comfortable, e.g. by hiding system processes from the list, making search more useful, or using presets/favorites, but the overall functionality works well already.

The initial version is a good start and if the developer continues to develop it, it will probably become more useful in future updates.

Now You: do you use programs to set others to be always on top? (via Deskmodder)

Summary
software image
Author Rating
1star1star1star1stargray
5 based on 3 votes
Software Name
OnTopper
Operating System
Windows
Software Category
Productivity
Landing Page
Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. JL Thomas said on March 30, 2020 at 11:48 am
    Reply

    seems like windows defender found a trojan in this program ?
    Best regards
    JLT

  2. Software Tester said on February 20, 2020 at 4:08 pm
    Reply

    Nice software thanks for sharing , Alternatively you can use Window TopMost Control v1.2 from sordum
    https://www.sordum.org/9182/window-topmost-control-v1-2/

  3. Michael said on February 20, 2020 at 3:01 pm
    Reply

    I use a little Autohotkey script to do this. I can pin any app by invoking by Win + T

    #t::
    ActiveHwnd := WinExist(“A”)
    WinGetTitle, WindowTitle, ahk_id %ActiveHwnd%
    WinGet, ExStyle, ExStyle, ahk_id %ActiveHwnd%
    if (ExStyle & 0x8)
    OnTop=1
    else
    OnTop=0
    Winset, AlwaysOnTop, Toggle, ahk_id %ActiveHwnd%

    StringReplace, WindowTitle, WindowTitle, %A_Space%- (Pinned)
    if not OnTop
    WindowTitle:=WindowTitle . ” – (Pinned)”

    WinSetTitle, ahk_id %ActiveHwnd%,,%WindowTitle%
    return

  4. peterdedonder said on February 19, 2020 at 2:00 pm
    Reply

    OnTopper seems to work where PinWin doesn’t. Thanks for the tip.

  5. peterdedonder said on February 19, 2020 at 2:00 pm
    Reply

    OnTopper seems to work where PinWin doesn’t. Thanks for the tip.

  6. guruke said on February 18, 2020 at 5:02 pm
    Reply

    Thanks Martin, this sounds like it may can in handy.

    FYI, you spelled “herd” wrong:

    “Tiny programs have a special place in my heard”

    So how do you use OnTopper with your herd?

  7. Ivan said on February 18, 2020 at 8:14 am
    Reply

    In these articles, I’d like to see comparisons, e.g. in this case to PinWin, which was also posted on ghacks.

  8. more than meets the eye said on February 17, 2020 at 8:31 pm
    Reply

    How long has Linux had this capability?

    And you don’t need a separate program, you just right click on the top of the window and select Always On Top or Same As Other Windows, the wording may vary depending on the Desktop Environment and/or Window Manager you use.

    “Those who do not understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it — badly.”
    – Henry Spencer

    1. guruke said on February 18, 2020 at 5:18 pm
      Reply

      But is that Always On Top feature always saved, and does it work with all software and just not for the OS windows? And can you simply remove that option if you never use it?

      “Unix geeks who condemn other geeks are silly.”
      – Alfred E. Neuman

  9. Guilherme said on February 17, 2020 at 2:43 pm
    Reply

    That’s useful =]

  10. Andrew said on February 17, 2020 at 8:08 am
    Reply

    Now if there was just a program that keeps an app in the background…

    1. pat said on February 17, 2020 at 2:37 pm
      Reply

      Windows 10! LOL

      1. pukey said on February 18, 2020 at 5:27 pm
        Reply

        @pat

        Thanks for that insightful info. You sound very tech savvy and smart. Do you have a tech blog or podcast? If not, you should.

      2. pat said on February 19, 2020 at 10:47 am
        Reply

        Come on, that’s just a joke!

      3. pukey said on February 20, 2020 at 8:17 pm
        Reply

        No seriously. We don’t need all these long reviews. We just need someone very smart as you who can simply tell it as it is, in three words or less.

        Perhaps you should have a site called TechLOL.com?

        Clearly, you’re the essential tool for that job.

        I’m not joking!

      4. pat said on February 22, 2020 at 10:24 am
        Reply

        LOL

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.