How to keep a reference webpage visible in Chrome
Keep a useful webpage beside your work, with a clear distinction between floating web content and pinning an entire desktop application.
Updated 2026-10-02
To keep a reference webpage visible while working in another window, you can open it in a floating view with Always on Top Window. The extension's toolbar action opens the current Chrome tab; its context-menu action opens a link.
Keep the original tab open. The product's instructions say that closing it also closes the floating view. This is a webpage workflow, not a way to pin any desktop application.
Choose the page you need to see
A documentation page, a tutorial, or a source you are consulting while writing is a useful starting point. Pick the specific page you need rather than leaving a search-results list floating above your work.
For example, you might keep a function reference beside your code editor. That is an illustrative workspace, not a claim that we tested a particular editor or website.
If the page contains a form or an unfinished draft, finish or save that work before experimenting with window controls or refreshing. The extension does not turn a webpage into a backup of its content.
Open a floating view from Chrome
Install Always on Top Window from its Chrome Web Store page, then open the reference page in Chrome.
- Use the extension's toolbar icon to open the current tab in a floating window.
- Move the floating window beside the area where you are working.
- Resize it until the part you need is readable.
- Leave the original Chrome tab open while using the floating view.
If you are starting from a link, the product also describes a right-click action for opening it in a floating window. The site's getting-started page explains the tab and link entry points.
Make room for reading and working
A floating reference helps only if it leaves enough space for the task underneath it. Start with a narrow window for short reference text, then widen it if lines wrap so often that reading becomes awkward.
Move it away from controls you repeatedly use. If the reference needs most of the screen, placing two windows side by side may be more comfortable than keeping a large view over your work.
The product describes moving and resizing web content, but that is not a guarantee that every site will behave the same way. If a page fails to display or its controls behave unexpectedly, return to the original tab rather than assuming the floating view supports it.
Use automatic refresh only when the page needs it
Always on Top Window provides optional timed refresh. A periodically updated dashboard may benefit from it; a documentation page you are reading usually does not need it.
Refresh reloads the webpage. Avoid enabling it on a page where you are entering text or where a reload could interrupt your task. Timed refresh is also different from a live data feed: the page still determines what information appears.
You can leave refresh off and use the view as a reading reference. The product overview describes refresh as an option, not a requirement.
Choose a different tool for desktop windows
If you need to pin a complete application window on Windows, Microsoft's PowerToys Always On Top addresses that different task. Its documentation describes pinning the active window with Windows+Ctrl+T.
Choose based on the object you need visible: a particular webpage suits this extension's floating-view workflow; a whole desktop window calls for an operating-system-level tool. Neither choice proves universal compatibility with every page or application.