AICHE Window Always Visible

The short answer: Enable "Always on Top" in AICHE settings to keep the window visible above all other applications, eliminating the need to alt-tab when checking recording status or starting rapid-fire dictations.

Alt-tabbing to AICHE 15 times during a focused work session (checking status, starting new recordings, viewing history) takes 30-45 seconds and breaks concentration each time. After 100 recordings, you've lost 5 minutes to window management.

1. Open AICHE Settings (gear icon in the app).
2. Find the "Always on Top" toggle in Settings.
3. Toggle "Always on Top" checkbox ON.
4. Position AICHE's window in a corner or edge of your screen (typically bottom-right or top-left).
5. Resize AICHE to a comfortable size (minimum 400x300px, recommended 500x400px for full feature visibility).
6. Return to your main work application - AICHE stays visible in the background.

Heads-up: Always on Top means AICHE covers portions of other windows. Choose positioning carefully. Corner placement works best on large monitors (24"+). On 13-15" laptop screens, you might prefer closing AICHE and using the system tray/menu bar instead.

The pro-tip: Combine Always on Top with a 3-monitor setup. Keep AICHE on your secondary or tertiary monitor, always visible but not covering primary work. This gives instant visual feedback without sacrificing screen real estate on your main display.

Result: Send 12 rapid Slack messages in 3 minutes using Always on Top mode. Glance at AICHE between messages to confirm "Ready" status. No alt-tabbing, no guessing if the previous recording finished, no workflow interruption.

Do this now: Enable Always on Top, move AICHE to your screen's bottom-right corner, resize to 500x400px, then open your browser full-screen and confirm AICHE remains visible above it.

When to Use Always on Top

Ideal Scenarios

Rapid-fire messaging: Sending 5-10 short messages consecutively to Slack, Discord, or Teams. Glance at AICHE to confirm each completed before starting the next.

Monitoring long processing: Dictated a 90-second recording with multiple AI enhancements enabled (8-12 second processing). Watch the green processing indicator without switching windows.

Learning the workflow: New AICHE users benefit from seeing visual state changes (blue ready → red recording → green processing → blue ready) to understand the cycle.

Multi-monitor setups: Dedicated secondary monitor for tools. AICHE always visible alongside your IDE, terminal, and browser.

Frequent history checks: Reusing past transcriptions throughout the day. Keep History panel open in Always on Top mode for quick copy-paste access.

When NOT to Use

Single-task focus: Writing a long document with occasional voice notes. Use global hotkey and close AICHE to maximize writing space.

Small laptop screens (13-15"): Limited screen real estate makes Always on Top impractical. System tray/menu bar + global hotkey is better.

Infrequent recording: Recording 3-5 times per hour. Alt-tabbing to AICHE when needed is faster than dedicating permanent screen space.

Full-screen apps: Video editing, gaming, presentation mode. Always on Top defeats the purpose of full-screen. Use notifications for completion alerts instead.

Positioning Strategies

Corner Placement (Recommended)

Bottom-Right: Most common choice. Away from app toolbars and window controls. Natural eye movement downward-right to check status.

Top-Left: Alternative for users who prefer upper-left monitor areas. Watch out for app menu bars (macOS) and title bars.

Bottom-Left: Good for right-handed users with mouse on right side. Left corner keeps AICHE away from mouse activity.

Top-Right: Works but conflicts with system tray (Windows), menu bar items (macOS), and common app notification areas.

Edge Placement (Advanced)

Right Edge, Vertically Centered: Thin vertical strip (300px wide) along right screen edge. Maximizes visibility while minimizing horizontal space usage.

Top Edge, Horizontally Centered: Wide but short (700x200px) strip along top. Good for ultrawide monitors (34"+).

Multi-Monitor Positioning

Primary Monitor: Only if 27"+ and working with tools that don't require full primary screen real estate.

Secondary Monitor: Best choice. AICHE gets full visibility, primary monitor stays uncluttered.

Tertiary Monitor: For 3+ monitor setups. Dedicate monitor to communication tools (Slack, email, AICHE).

Window Size Optimization

Minimum Functional Size

400x300px - Shows recording button, basic status, and essential controls. Hides statistics and detailed history.

Recommended Size

500x400px - Displays recording button, status, quick-access controls, and 3-5 recent history items.

Comfortable Size

600x500px - Full interface visible including statistics, enhancement toggles, and scrollable history panel.

Maximum Practical Size

800x600px - Beyond this, you're wasting screen space. AICHE's UI doesn't benefit from larger dimensions in Always on Top mode.

Behavior Details

What Stays on Top

• Main AICHE window only
• Settings panel (when opened from main window)
• History panel (when opened from main window)

What Does NOT Stay on Top

• System notifications (these appear above AICHE)
• Modal dialogs from other apps (operating system enforced)
• Full-screen apps (OS-level override)
• Screen share / remote desktop bars (system priority)

Interaction with Other Apps

Clicking behind AICHE: You can click and interact with windows behind AICHE. The Always on Top setting doesn't block clicks - it only controls visual layering.

Dragging windows: Other windows can be dragged behind AICHE. They won't cover AICHE even when brought to focus.

Keyboard focus: Focusing another app (clicking its window or alt-tabbing) doesn't bring it above AICHE. AICHE remains visually on top while the other app receives keyboard input.

Platform Differences

macOS

• Clean integration: Always on Top respects macOS window management conventions
• Mission Control: AICHE appears in all spaces/desktops unless pinned to specific space
• Stage Manager: Always on Top works within Stage Manager groups

Windows

• Taskbar: AICHE stays above app windows but below Windows taskbar (when set to Always on Top)
• Snap layouts: Can't snap AICHE while Always on Top is enabled (Windows limitation)
• Virtual desktops: AICHE only visible on the virtual desktop where it's running

Linux

• Desktop environment dependent: Behavior varies by DE (GNOME, KDE, XFCE)
• Window manager rules: Some WMs let you create custom rules for AICHE's window
• Compositor effects: Transparent windows, animations work normally with Always on Top

Keyboard Shortcuts

Toggle Always on Top

Open Settings and toggle the checkbox. No keyboard shortcut available.

While Always on Top is Active

• Space bar: Start/stop recording (when AICHE has focus)
• Ctrl+H / Cmd+H: Open history
• Ctrl+S / Cmd+S: Open settings
• Esc: Close open panels (history, settings)

Disabling Always on Top

1. Click into AICHE window to give it focus
2. Open Settings (gear icon)
3. Toggle "Always on Top" OFF
4. AICHE window now behaves like normal applications (can be covered by other windows)

Alternative: Close and reopen AICHE. It launches with your last saved setting.

Common Questions

Does Always on Top affect performance?

No. It's a window manager flag, not a CPU-intensive process. AICHE's performance (recording, transcription, UI responsiveness) is identical whether Always on Top is enabled or disabled.

Can I make other apps stay above AICHE?

Not easily. Always on Top is binary - AICHE is above everything or normal priority. Workarounds exist using third-party window management tools (BetterSnapTool on macOS, DisplayFusion on Windows), but AICHE doesn't provide built-in z-order customization.

What about full-screen video calls?

Always on Top won't cover full-screen video (Zoom, Meet, Teams). OS-level full-screen apps always override Always on Top windows. When you exit full-screen, AICHE reappears.

Can I make AICHE semi-transparent?

No. AICHE uses standard window opacity.

Does this work with virtual desktops?

macOS: AICHE can be pinned to all spaces or a specific space via right-click on window → Options.
Windows: AICHE only visible on the virtual desktop where it's running (Windows limitation).
Linux: Depends on your window manager's virtual desktop implementation.

Troubleshooting

Always on Top stopped working

1. Check Settings → Always on Top is still enabled
2. Restart AICHE (Quit and relaunch)
3. On Linux, check if your window manager updated (some updates reset window flags)

Can't move AICHE window

Always on Top doesn't lock window position. You can still drag AICHE to reposition. If dragging doesn't work, check:

1. Window isn't maximized (unmaximize first)
2. Not in a snapped state (Windows Snap)
3. No third-party window manager interfering

Other apps appear above AICHE

Certain system-level windows (screen share bars, VPN connection dialogs, system alerts) always appear above user apps regardless of Always on Top setting. This is OS-enforced and expected behavior.

Related Features

• System Tray/Menu Bar: Alternative to Always on Top. Close window, access via tray icon.
• Floating Status Bar: Works alongside Always on Top. Shows recording status in screen corner.
• Global Hotkey: Use ⌃+⌥+R (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+R (Windows/Linux) to record without focusing AICHE window.

Advanced: Window Management

For power users who want automated window positioning:

• macOS: Use Rectangle or BetterSnapTool to create custom positioning shortcuts.
• Windows: Use PowerToys FancyZones for snap layouts.
• Linux: Most desktop environments support window rules for automatic positioning.