How to keep a window always on top in Windows 11

Microsoft's PowerToys option

Microsoft's free PowerToys includes Always On Top. With PowerToys running, select the window you want to keep visible and press Windows + Ctrl + T, its default shortcut. The window stays above other windows when you switch apps.

That handles pinning the window. Glassline puts Keep on Top inside the app panel you open by clicking the app's name in the menu bar.

Keep your window on top

1. Install Glassline from the Microsoft Store. Open it to get the menu bar at the top of the screen and the dock at the bottom.
2. Bring the window you want to keep into view. Click it so it is the app's window in front. For example, choose the small window holding the notes you need while you work.
3. Click the app's name in the menu bar. Its name is near the left end. The app panel opens.
4. Click Keep on Top. Glassline keeps that window above the other windows. Click back into your work and the reference stays visible.

Once the right window is in front, pinning takes two clicks: its app's name, then Keep on Top. You can do both with the pointer already near the top of the screen.

Choose the right window

Keep on Top applies to the app's window in front. If the app has several windows open, check which one you have selected before using it.

The app panel shows its open windows as small pictures. Click the picture of the window you need to bring it forward.

Turn the app panel on

App panel is on for new installs and updates. If you have switched it off, clicking the app's name will no longer open the panel.

1. Open Glassline Settings. Right-click the menu bar and choose Glassline Settings.
2. Choose Menu Bar. Turn on App panel. Clicking the app's name now opens its controls again.

Check administrator apps

Glassline's Keep on Top does not work on an app run as administrator. If that is the window you are trying to pin, the app panel cannot apply Keep on Top to it.