Stick any program to always stay on top with Window TopMost Control

Some programs offer an always on top mode, like video players and music players. But what if the application that you want to stick on top doesn't have the option? You can use a third-party solution such as OnTopper.

We'll be taking a look at Window TopMost Control. As the name suggests, this application can make any program's window stick over others, which is great for multi-tasking.

TopMost is a portable software and the archive contains executables for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Run the EXE and the program should start on the system tray. Open any application (Notepad, Firefox, etc). Try left-clicking on the Window TopMost Control tray icon, nothing will happen. Now, try double-clicking on it, you've just enabled your first sticky window. There won't be any visual change if you just have one window open, but try opening another application, and you'll see the difference.

When you have multiple windows open, and you sticky the program that's not currently in focus, TopMost will automatically switch to the window that you stuck, as an indication that you have made a change. And likewise, it will minimize the window that you have unstuck.

Right-click on the icon to view TopMost's context menu. Mouse over the first option, i.e. Window List: a pop-up pane appears that lists the windows of every program that are currently open on your computer. Move the cursor over the title of the window and it highlights the corresponding program. Left click on the selected window to pin it.

Note: Sometimes the tray menu's list appears after a minor delay, just wait for a second and it will pop-up.

If you would rather use the keyboard for putting windows on top, you may do so with the hotkey: Ctrl + Alt + Space. This works for unsticking windows too, but you'll need to switch to the window and use the key combo. Can I stick more than one window on top? Yes, you can. This way you can rearrange the windows wherever you want while working in another application.

To unstick a window select it again from the tray menu or by using the keyboard shortcut. You can't unstick windows by double-clicking the tray icon. The program respects the Show Desktop option (Windows + D), which you can use to temporarily minimize windows that you have stuck.

The tray icon can be used to access the program's options. Changes that you make to it are saved to the INI file that's located in the folder where you extracted the archive to. In fact, it remembers the last sticky windows upon exit and restart.

The program doesn't necessarily have to be kept running in the background all the time, i.e., you can set some program windows to stay on top, and exit Topmost if you'd like that. But to unstick them you'll need to run the program again or delete the setting from the INI file. Or you can try the command line options if you don't like working with the program's interface.

The hotkey can be customized to your liking from the Options pane, but it's still limited to Ctrl + Alt + Key of your choice. And while you're on the same screen, you can optionally set the program to start automatically with windows.

Note: I did notice an issue with Firefox. When you stick a Firefox window, you won't be able to access the browser's menu. Unsticking it fixes the issue. I'm not sure if this is a bug with the program, or if it has do with the browser's overlay.

Window TopMost Control is user-friendly, to the point, and just works fine.

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