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OnTopReplica lets you put a section of any window always-on-top
You know those neat thumbnails that you get when you hover over an icon in the Windows 7 taskbar? Did you ever notice how they're "live" and keep moving when a video is playing in a window that is minimized or otherwise obscured?
OnTopReplica is a neat little tool that takes this functionality and lets you put one of those thumbnails anywhere on your screen, and it can be any size. Once you run it, you select a window, and then you select a region in that window. Once that's done, anything happening in that region of the window will be shown in a large, permanent, always-on-top "thumbnail" that you can place anywhere on the screen.
One thing to note is that it's window-specific. So, let's say you're playing a video in a Firefox tab and select it in OnTopReplica. You now see the video in the always-on-top frame, just like you wanted. However, if you now switch tabs, you suddenly see your Gmail in that same frame, which is far less exciting. You pretty much need to dedicate a single window to whatever it is that you want to put in the frame. Still, it's a very handy way to keep an eye on a video or any other online content.
[Via: FreeWareGenius]
Comments
11
Subscribe to commentspat_boy2008Jun 16th 2010 6:36PM
I so totally could have used this yesterday and Monday. I was watching the E3 press conferences and chatting with my friends at the same time. And I had to resize the video and chat window so they could be on the screen at the same time. I wish I had of known about this program before then.
aledJun 16th 2010 8:00PM
Sticky Previews, from Ntwind does the same, although is licensed....
http://www.ntwind.com/software/sticky-previews.html
RompeRatonesJun 16th 2010 8:25PM
I use dm2 to put any window on top, it does not require .Net framework installed, does not require admin privileges, just unzip and click on the executable file
http://dm2.sourceforge.net/
stinlen56Jun 17th 2010 1:50AM
I don't get it.
You can't minimize the window that is being monitored? Talk about clutter. I hope you don't plan on hitting windows key+d or opening other windows and rearranging stuff. Imagine, if you need to sort through windows you have to always make sure the one you are monitoring isn't minimized, then put other windows on top or make them active last. Seems cumbersome. Also, the first example the author give is VLC which can already run in always on top. Then he mentions download windows, which show progress on the taskbar on their own. Maybe this is good for some people, but I really just don't get it.
stinlen56Jun 17th 2010 1:52AM
oh, and I want to keep calling it "OnToplica" because the current name is less than catchy and more of a description.
stinlen56Jun 24th 2010 3:23AM
I take back everything I said.
I am using for today's woot off and now I see the purpose. This program works best if you only want to do one other thing while keep an eye on other things because as I've said, it could get frustrating trying to keep the window you're watching from being minimized while shuffling around. Regardless, I am a converted fan.
lassiJun 17th 2010 5:37AM
use it for permanent sniper zoom on second screen while playing cs etc.
dfdsfsdfJun 17th 2010 12:48PM
Sounds cool, but I can't use it, because it requires Aero to be enabled.
jtjJun 22nd 2010 12:25PM
I use it to watch installation progress bars go by on boring TeamViewer sessions, so I can read the internets at the same time. :)
ScraynAug 14th 2010 8:06PM
I'm glad I found this post (thank you search)-- I've been wanting to watch videos on Hulu while playing games, but because I only have one monitor, I've had to flip back and forth between Hulu Desktop and the game window and it gets annoying because I'll usually die.
It's nearly perfect. The only thing that would kick it up to perfection is Microsoft allowing live views of windows while minimized, but that's something I can live with. This program, though, I cannot. Thanks for finding it, Erez!
JamesAug 27th 2010 4:46PM
I've always used Power Menu for this type of functionality, but it doesn't allow you to select only a portion of the window. Looks like I have found a new replacement! Thanks!