How To: Keep iTunes video window “always on top”
One small annoyance I’ve had for some time with iTunes is the fact you can’t keep the video window “always on top” of other windows. This is really annoying if you are trying to work and watch your favorite podcasts or movies.
Currently there is no way to accomplish this with iTunes. However I found a nice small program, for Windows and Apple, that allows you to designate any window you want to always stay on top!
For Windows: PowerMenu
Description: PowerMenu is a small application that adds some extra menu items to the windows control menu: Always On Top, Transparency and Minimize To Tray.
For Apple: Afloat
Description: Afloat is a small Cocoa plug-in that adds “Keep Floating”, “Always on Top” and “Make Transparent” commands to the Window menu of many Mac applications.
Once installed simply right-click your iTunes video window and select “Always on Top” from the menu. Now you can easily enjoy your favorite videos while working away!
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Tags: app, apple, How To, iTunes, windows
Brad Williams is a computer programmer and tech junkie who enjoys exploring technology and sharing his knowledge and experience with others.
dan diemer
said
am September 14 2007 @ 6:09 pm
not working for me with iTunes 7.4.1 =(
dan diemer
said
am September 14 2007 @ 6:09 pm
opps, on a mac
Aaron
said
am February 28 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Dude, it’s well known that afloat on a Mac DOES NOT WORK WITH iTUNES !!! Do a bit of research before you start posting helpful little hints on the web, eh?
Brad
said
am February 28 2008 @ 4:04 pm
@Aaron seeing as how I don’t own a Mac I wouldn’t know. I just went off what other sites suggested. Don’t worry, I’m sure Apple will sell you a piece of proprietary software for $50 to allow you to do this.
r4ndy
said
am March 9 2008 @ 8:38 pm
Thanks for the suggestion, power menu is great!
Ryan
said
am August 29 2008 @ 9:34 am
At least on the Mac with the latest iTunes (and probably going back a few version) if you go to Preferences->Playback there’s a checkbox for “Keep Movie window on top of all other windows”
No need for a plugin
Mark
said
am August 29 2008 @ 3:51 pm
@Ryan Thanks for the last post. That’s exactly what I was looking for.
It’s funny that we are both commenting this post on today, little over a year after the original post.
Andrew
said
am September 9 2008 @ 10:21 pm
After a year, with my MacBook, I have always been able to keep the movie window on top of all other windows. Until today when I downloaded and installed iTunes 8. The check box is still in the preferences, but iTunes does not do this. Mac OS X 10.5 has been amazing since I installed it. Hopefully there will be fix for this again.
Gareth
said
am January 6 2009 @ 3:44 pm
It does work – you just need to also select ‘play movies and tv shows in a separate window’ in the playback preferences. Still that is rather hidden away when Apple go on about how intuitive their products are…
Jumal
said
am September 11 2009 @ 10:02 pm
I was looking at itunes menu but there’s nothing that says play movie in separate windows till i figured out that it’s on the rightclick context menu.
http://www.machoe.com/2196/itunes-tip-make-itunes-video-float-on-top.html