Keep a dashboard visible in Chrome without refreshing it unnecessarily
Give the dashboard a useful place on screen and choose how it updates. Set up the floating view, then check what refresh actually changes.
Updated 2026-10-07
To keep a dashboard visible while you work in another window, open its Chrome page in a floating view with Always on Top Window. Leave the source tab open. Before enabling automatic refresh, check whether the dashboard already updates its own data: a visible page and current information are separate requirements.
Check the dashboard before floating it
Open the exact dashboard you need and choose its filters or time range. Look for an update timestamp, a data refresh control, or the dashboard's help page. Decide what you need to watch: one status indicator may fit in a small window, while a dense table may need more space.
Some dashboards have their own update controls. For example, Grafana's documentation describes a dashboard refresh command that runs its queries, plus a control for selecting an interval. That is a dashboard feature, not a feature Always on Top adds to every website.
If the page already refreshes its data at a suitable interval, start with the extension's timed refresh off. Test the layout first, then assess whether another refresh mechanism is useful.
Open the floating dashboard
The extension's public instructions describe these entry points:
- Open the dashboard in Chrome and click the Always on Top Window toolbar icon to float the current tab.
- Alternatively, right-click a link and choose Open link in Always-on-top Window.
- Move and resize the floating view beside the work you are doing.
- Keep its source tab open. Closing that tab also closes the floating view.
Switch to your working window and check that the needed values are readable. Leave room for controls you use repeatedly; covering a Save button with the dashboard creates another interruption.
This extension floats Chrome web content. If you need a whole desktop application to stay above other windows, that is a different task. The reference-page guide explains that distinction and the basic workspace setup.
Choose how the information should refresh
The extension lists optional page-refresh intervals of 5, 10 or 30 seconds, or 1 or 5 minutes. Choose an interval only after checking the dashboard's own controls and any service guidance.
A page reload loads the current URL again, as MDN's reload reference explains. It does not guarantee that the service has new data. The display may show information from an earlier measurement, a fixed time range, or a service that updates less often than the page reloads.
- If the dashboard already updates the values you need, keep extension refresh off and check its update indicator.
- If values change only after a reload, try an available interval that leaves time for the page to load, then inspect the result.
- While entering text or changing settings, leave timed reload off.
- If the page reloads but its timestamp does not advance, check the time range and service documentation. Faster reloads may not help.
For an illustrative setup, a queue summary that changes only occasionally may be easier to read with a longer interval than with a reload every few seconds. This is a layout suggestion, not a tested performance result or a recommended setting for every service.
Check freshness and usability together
Watch one update cycle before relying on the floating view. Compare the displayed timestamp or a known value with the original dashboard. Confirm that the relevant filter and time range still match your task after a reload.
If the page returns to a sign-in screen, drops a filter, or keeps loading when you need to read it, switch timed refresh off and return to the original tab. Follow the dashboard's own instructions. A floating view does not bypass authentication or guarantee compatibility with every page.
Use a read-only monitoring page while you work elsewhere. Finish and save any input before trying timed reloads. If the panel is too cramped or its controls behave differently, use the original dashboard in a side-by-side window arrangement.