Afloat from Infinite Labs was one of my favorite SIMBL plugins, until it was broken by Leopard. It adds some clever features to windows in Cocoa applications, including a mode where the window remains always visible, "floating" above all other windows, an overlay mode where the window floats but clicks fall through to the windows below, and adjustable transparency (including a very nifty mode in which a window will be translucent until you mouse over it and then it pops into an opaque mode).
Thankfully, Afloat 2.0 now works with Leopard. In fact, it works so well with Leopard that OS X 10.5 is now required to run Afloat. The free download includes the Infinite Labs PlugSuit SIMBL plugin manager, but it is not necessary to run Afloat if you already have SIMBL installed.
[via Infinite Loop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-30-2008 @ 10:39AM
pacheco said...
TOTALLY sweet, why have I not heard of this app before? I feel so late.
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 10:56AM
Johnny said...
This is one of those apps that looks really sweet and I want so badly to find a use for it, but after installing it, I can't really find one so I think I'm going to remove it. Can someone tell me how they use it?
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 11:17AM
jopari said...
I'm gonna use it to enable clickthrough abilities in my Adium window, so that I can always see who's online but not hinder my desktop (you could also use it for iChat to achieve the same thing).
4-30-2008 @ 12:04PM
Jak Logan said...
The only thing I use it for is keeping VLC/Quicktime above my Firefox window... Does anyone know how to add/change the keyboard shortcut keys to a preference pane? When I go to the Keyboard/Mouse panel and try to add a custom keyboard shortcut, I can't find how to bring up Afloat. I want to change the shortcut keys to something more memorable.
I also wish Afloat had an option to save the transparency/afloat status to certain apps/windows. As it is now, if you Hide or minimize a window, the effects go away.
4-30-2008 @ 11:01AM
mark said...
Great app:)
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 11:21AM
psxp said...
looks nice.. I may try and use it with CoverSutra to keep my album art or iTunes controls on the screen
Reply
5-05-2008 @ 12:51PM
sprint84 said...
hey! nice idea!
did it work?
5-05-2008 @ 11:43PM
psxp said...
installed it.. didnt see it work on the apps I wanted it to work.. ie. Coversutra, removed it..
4-30-2008 @ 11:46AM
Milford said...
This is quite nice. The one thing I'd like is a control-key sequence that, when pressed, causes all clicks to go through the window to what's below. Then I'd never have to go into the setting menu at all.
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 1:20PM
Plug-in Police said...
Here we go again. Not a plugin. See here: http://www.macjournals.com/news/inputmanagerhacks.html
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 1:56PM
Brian said...
I just wish something like this would include an option that would make windows snap to edges of the screen or other windows like AllSnap does for Windows. That has been the only thing I have been missing on my PC since I made the switch 2 months ago.
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 2:35PM
Reuven said...
Brian -
I don't know what AllSnap is, but I suspect that what you're describing is included in Zooom - what they call "Magnetics". (http://coderage-software.com/zooom/compare/compare.html)
You may want to give it a shot (though it's not a free application, I find it's well worth the price).
4-30-2008 @ 6:41PM
MWakey said...
It says it works with Safari, but I don't see it in the Window menu. It does show up in Preview and a few other apps, so I know it's installed. What am I missing here?
Reply
4-30-2008 @ 10:05PM
David Chartier said...
Have you restarted Safari? You may actually need to restart your machine; I did.
4-30-2008 @ 10:04PM
David Chartier said...
Note that Afloat is not free, it's donationware. I think this is an important distinction to make for authors who are trying to make a living by providing great software.
Every time you don't donate for an app, a kitten (or puppy!) gets blended.
Reply