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Overlay Restream Chat on Desktop
Overlay Restream Chat on Desktop

Learn how to use Restream Chat on a single monitor and follow the steps in this guide to overlay it on your desktop.

Lawson Zeugin avatar
Written by Lawson Zeugin
Updated over a week ago

Whether you are trying to see the chat on top of a video game or on top of anything on a single display, you can follow the steps in this guide to allow for seamless viewing and level up your multi-streaming experience!

For both Mac and PC, the chat cannot be placed on top of full-screen applications due to software limitations. For games, please use "windowed-fullscreen" or "windowed-borderless" display mode instead of fullscreen. 

🤔 How to overlay Restream Chat on desktop

  1. You will need to download the Restream Chat application to follow these steps as they do not correspond to the in-browser version. The steps would be the same for both macOS and Windows. 

  2. Go to the Restream Chat's settings by clicking "Settings" at the bottom right and then selecting "Appearance" from the popup. 

    Restream Chat Appearance Settings

  3. Enable "Window Always On Top". It is also recommended to enable "Click Through Mode" if you want to click in the same region as the chat and not interact with it while streaming. 

    Restream Chat Always on top

If you enable "Click Through Mode", you have to hold down Control (on Windows) or Command (on Mac) to interact with the chat again in order to access settings, respond, and proceed with any chat function. To disable these settings, just uncheck the applicable box.

💡 In case Click Through Mode doesn't work for you, please update Visual Basic C++ vcredist. You can do it following this article.

Additional options (Windows)

For some games, additional manipulations are needed to make them work with the chat overlay. The following part is applicable to Windows games only:

If your game does not support Windowed Fullscreen mode but still supports Windowed mode, there's an application called Borderless Gaming. You can download it from a repository at GitHub (9.5.1) or buy it on Steam. This application will allow you to switch any game to the windowed fullscreen mode by clicking the "borderless" button.

Borderless Gaming Application

If your game still comes back in front of your chat while you click it after setting it to windowed fullscreen, try removing the "always on top" setting for it. One of the ways of doing this is downloading and running AlwaysOnTopMaker and pressing Ctrl+Alt+T while the game is in focus. Any other application that allows setting and unsetting the "always on top" option will also be able to help you with the game overlapping the chat.

For older games, there's another tool called DXWnd. It will allow you to run old titles on modern hardware, and also will provide you with a way to launch those games in windowed mode. Click with a Right Mouse Button in the main window of an app, select "Add", and give the tool a path to your old game. Make sure that the "Run in Window" option is enabled, then click OK and launch it from the main window of DXWnd.

DXWnd Settings
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