How To Make a Window Transparent in Windows 10 & 11

Want to make a window transparent and see-through? Here are two easy methods to achieve this.

If you have multiple windows stacked on top of each other, making one or more windows transparent helps a lot in managing and seeing what’s behind the active window. This virtually eliminates the need to switch between windows, especially those with smaller screens. For example, if you are a graphic designer, web designer, or coder, seeing the changes instantly without switching windows while designing or coding is helpful.

While Windows doesn’t have a built-in option, you can use free apps such as AutoHotKey and Peek Through to make any window transparent. In this quick and easy how-to tutorial, let me show you the steps to enable window transparency in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Before You Begin

• Administrator rights are required to install software discussed below.

Make A Window Transparent Using AutoHotKey

AutoHotKey is a free and open-source Windows automation software. Using it, you can toggle window transparency with a keyboard shortcut. Here’s how to do it.

1. First, get AutoHotKey and install it.
2. Right-click on the desktop
3. Select “New” > “Text Document“.
4. Rename the text file to”TrasparentWindow.ahk“.
5. Right-click the file and select “Edit script” or “Edit in Notepad“.
6. Paste the following script in it.
   ; Press Alt + T to toggle window transparency
!t:: {
static togg34 := false
togg34 := !togg34
if (togg34)
  WinSetTransparent(200, "A")
else
  WinSetTransparent("Off", "A")
}
7. Press “Ctrl + S” to save the file.
8. Close the Notepad.
9. Double-click the AHK script file to run it.
10. From now on, press “Alt + T” to enable or disable window transparency.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, download AutoHotKey from the official website and install it like any other Windows software. Once installed, we can proceed to create the AutoHotKey (.ahk) script.

Navigate to your desktop (press Windows key + D), right-click, and select “New” and then “Text Document“. Next, rename the text file to “TrasparentWindow.ahk“. You must replace the .txt extension with .ahk. If you don’t see the .txt extension, enable file extensions in File Explorer (on Windows 10).

With that, we’ve created the script file. Now, we need to add the actual script to it. To do that, right-click the script file and select the “Edit Script” or “Edit in Notepad” option. Alternatively, you can also select “Open with” > “Notepad”.

Paste the following script in the Notepad window and press “Ctrl + S” to save the file.

; Press Alt + T to toggle window transparency 
​
!t:: {
  static togg34 := false
  togg34 := !togg34
  if (togg34)
    WinSetTransparent(200, "A")
  else
    WinSetTransparent("Off", "A")
}

Next, close the Notepad window and double-click the script file to run it.

That’s it. As long as the script is running, you can press “Alt + T” to make a window transparent. Pressing the same keyboard shortcut disables transparency.

Customizing The Script

To change the opacity, modify the number 200 in the WinSetTransparent(200, "A"). The valid range is 0 (fully transparent) to 255 (fully opaque). For example, if you want the window to be 50% transparent, you should set the value to 128. The entire line looks like this: WinSetTransparent(128, "A").

To customize the keyboard shortcut, modify the !t part of the script. Here’s a valid list of keys you can use with AutoHotKey.

Make A Window Transparent Using Peek Through

If you don’t like scripting and looking for a simpler method, Peek Through is for you. It lets you make any window transparent with a keyboard shortcut. Here’s how to set up and use it.

1. Get the Peek Through from here and install it.
2. Press the “Windows key” to open the Start menu.
3. Search for “Peek Through” and click the “Open” option.
4. Go to the “Hot Key” tab.
5. Select the keyboard shortcut you want to assign from the dropdown menus.
6. To change the transparency value, go to the “Transparency” tab and move the slider as needed.
7. Finally, click the “Activate” button.
   
8. Click the “Save” button to apply the settings.
9. Minimize the application.

From now on, whenever you want a transparent window, select it, and press the “Win + A” keyboard shortcut. Press the shortcut again to make the window normal.

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That is all. It is that simple to make any window transparent. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.

Good to know: How to make the taskbar transparent.

Update: The tutorial’s been updated, with these changes: the AutoHotKey script now works with version 2, and the Peek Through download’s moved to Softpedia—the developer’s site link’s dead, unfortunately.