Always On Top

Requirements

• Accessibility permission — needed in both modes so ProToys can find your windows and move or raise them.
• Screen Recording permission — only needed in Mirror mode, so ProToys can show a live picture of the pinned window.

Grant either one in System Settings → Privacy & Security and tick ProToys.

The Two Modes

macOS doesn't have an official way to keep another app's window on top, so ProToys offers two approaches. Pick whichever fits how you work.

• Mirror mode (default) — ProToys shows a live copy of the pinned window that floats above everything, including over other apps in full-screen. Great for keeping a video, chart, or chat visible while you work in something else.
• Raise mode — ProToys keeps the real window on top within its own desktop Space. You're clicking the actual window, so mouse, scroll, and keyboard feel completely normal. Best when you don't need to overlay full-screen apps.

Switch in Settings → Always On Top → Mode. After switching, unpin and re-pin any window you want to update.

Pinning a Window

1. Press ⌥⌘W.
2. A picker shows every open window, grouped by app. (ProToys' own windows aren't listed.)
3. Click the one you want to pin.
4. It now floats on top.

Moving a Pinned Window

In Mirror mode, click-and-drag the top strip of the mirror — the same place you'd grab a real title bar — and the underlying window follows. This works even while you're using another app in full-screen, without flipping you back to a different desktop. A single click without dragging still passes through to the window as a normal click.

In Raise mode, just drag the window's title bar as you normally would.

Unpinning a Window

Bring the pinned window to the front and press ⌥⌘W again. You can also re-open the picker with the same shortcut and click an already-pinned window to toggle it off.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Settings

Open ProToys Settings → Always On Top to configure:

• Mode — Mirror (default) or Raise.
• Border — show or hide the colored outline drawn around pinned windows, with thickness, color (your accent color or a custom one), and opacity.

Things to Know

macOS doesn't really want windows from one app to live above another app's full-screen view, so each mode has a couple of trade-offs. Here's what to expect.

Mirror mode

• Mouse can be a little hit-or-miss. Because you're clicking a copy of the window rather than the real thing, scrolls and clicks can be inconsistent — especially when the real window lives on a different desktop than the one you're viewing.
• Keyboard works once focused. After your first click on the mirror, the underlying app takes focus and typing flows through normally. Before that, key presses may not reach it yet.
• Drag-to-move only works on the top strip. The rest of the mirror passes drags through to the window as if you were dragging inside the app.
• A few windows can't be moved by drag. Some unusual windows (mostly system panels) don't allow being repositioned. The drag falls back to a regular click.
• No desktop jump in full-screen. If you click the mirror while you're viewing another app in full-screen, ProToys avoids switching you to a different desktop — you stay where you are and the click is delivered behind the scenes.

Raise mode

• The pinned window stays on its own desktop. macOS doesn't allow arbitrary windows from one app to appear inside another app's full-screen view. If you need that, use Mirror mode.
• Other windows may flash above briefly. ProToys re-asserts top position about four times a second, so a newly-opened window can appear over the pinned one for a fraction of a second before snapping back.
• A few windows can't be raised. Some non-standard windows don't support being raised this way — pin them in Mirror mode instead.

Both modes

• Closing the window unpins it. If you close or quit the app, the pin goes with it. Reopen the window and re-pin to continue.
• ProToys' own windows can't be pinned. Picker, settings, and menu-bar dropdowns are excluded.
• Mirror mode uses more battery than Raise mode. Mirror runs a live capture for each pinned window, so 5–6 mirrors is comfortable; more starts to feel sluggish on older Macs. Raise mode is featherweight.

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