A comfortable option for working is, for example, using a double screen or dividing yours into several zones. This is especially interesting on large screens where we can have the browser on one side or a word processor on the other, for example. Or if you are doing something while watching a series, for example. But we do not always have the windows that we would like at hand and that is why you can follow some tips or tricks to pin a window or have an application always visible in Windows 10 or Windows 11.
There are several options that can help us improve productivity. Some of them directly from the computer or its configuration and others that we can get if we download specific programs.
Pin windows or programs
We can anchor programs in the Windows start bar if we want to have programs always at hand without having to search for them among all the ones we have on the computer. It does not allow anchoring a window so that it is always visible but what we create is a shortcut that we always see even if we have something open and we do not have the desktop at hand, for example. We can anchor and undock as many times as we want according to the needs we have at all times. This will allow us to have them on hand whenever we want.
The process is very simple: we go to the icon of the program that interests us, wherever it is, and we right-click on it. A drop-down with options will appear and we will search for “anchor in the start bar”. Tap on this option and it will automatically appear at the bottom of the screen.
If you want to change or remove it, go to the icon at the bottom and right-click. You will see a list of options and choose ” unpin .”
Dock windows
If you have Windows 11 you can use the Snap Layouts or Dock windows tool that allows us to organize the windows we use to always have what we want to see visible. There are several different templates that we can use:
- Two exactly the same windows
- Two windows with different sizes: 80 and 20
- Three equal windows
- One half complete and another half divided into two parts
- Four equal parts in format 2 and 2
- Three parts in which the central one is slightly larger than the lateral ones
We don’t have to do anything complicated and you just have to tap on the classic minimize or maximize button that will be in charge of giving us the options. Choose the one you want and it will adjust the windows for comfortable multitasking. As Microsoft explains, we can do it like this: “Hover over a window’s maximize button or press Win + Z, and then choose a fit layout to optimize screen space and productivity.”
In addition, it also allows us to adjust groups. This means that we can adjust all the windows that interest us or that have the same theme so that they appear in a single group. As you can see in the image, dock two or more applications or windows to create “a group of add-ons”. If you want to use them, you just have to use the pointer and put it on the taskbar.
Third party tools
Another option is to use a specialized tool that allows us to play PiP windows without having to depend on Windows’ own functions. There are several tools that allow us to fix windows or enjoy this format for free and very useful.
OnTopper
As its name suggests, OnTopper allows you to set advantages to always have them at hand and is very easy to use. We just have to download it from the SourceForge website and it will allow us to run it and choose which process or program we want to keep “on the top”. When you install it and make it work, we will see the main window with all the processes that are running on the computer. We choose the one we want and click on “Set top”. In case it is not available or does not appear in the list we must execute it and touch on “Update”
Once we have it, it will always appear in the foreground. If we want to remove it, we can choose the “Unset top” button and it will return to its usual state.
PiP Tool
Another option, for example, is the PiP Tool. In this way, we can run any application that we have open on our desktop in PiP mode so that it is always visible above the rest of the windows. To do this, we are going to have to use this simple tool that we can download for free on Github
As its name suggests, it has been developed to allow you to run any application in PiP mode on your desktop. Once we have downloaded the tool and proceeded with its installation, when we launch PiP Tool we will see that it has a very simple and minimalist interface . We will only see a small black window in which a drop-down appears with the windows that we have open on the desktop and two buttons, a check to confirm and a cross to close, it’s that simple.
Therefore, all we have to do for one of the applications that we have open on the desktop to run in PiP mode is to select it from the drop-down menu. Once this is done, PiP Tool will automatically bring the focus to that window and a marking tool will appear so that we can select the part of the window that we want to always be visible . We can choose the entire window or the part of the application that we want to always be visible.
After selecting the area that we want to view in PiP mode, we only have to click on the check icon to confirm and we will automatically see how the window or section of the window that we have selected appears in a floating window in PiP mode. Therefore, it will always be displayed above whatever window we are using. In addition, we can change its size or drag it to place it where it suits us at all times.
If we want to change the application, that is , change the one we have in PiP or Picture in Picture mode at that moment on our desktop for another, all we have to do is click on the icon that appears to the left of the cross of the floating window and we can automatically select a new one from the PiP Tool drop-down.