Peek Through

Peek Through

Peek Through is a small free utility from Luke Payne Software that makes the active window transparent with a press of a hotkey, so you can see what is behind it without minimizing or moving the window. It is handy when you type text from one document into another program, keep an eye on a download or a chat in the background, or compare two overlapping windows. The program was written for Windows XP, Vista and 7, where it works as an alternative to the Aero Peek feature: instead of hiding all windows, it lets you look through just the one in front. Peek Through runs in the system tray; a left-click on its icon opens the settings window with four tabs: Hot Key, Transparency, Options and About.

Peek Through lets you see and even click through to windows behind the active one without minimizing or moving it.

Features:

1. Hot Key: Choose the key combination that turns transparency on, for example the Windows key plus a letter. Pressing the hotkey again makes the window opaque.

2. Adjustable transparency: A slider sets how transparent the foreground window becomes, from a light tint to almost invisible.

3. Click-through: An option allows clicks to pass through the transparent window to the window beneath it, so you can work with the lower window without switching.

4. Any window: Transparency is applied to the current foreground window, whether it is an Explorer folder, a browser or a document.

5. Start with Windows: The program can start automatically when the system launches and wait in the tray.

6. Hotkey conflicts: The settings warn that hotkeys already used by the system or other applications will not work, so you can pick a free combination.

7. Lightweight: The installer is only about 126 KB, and the program needs very few system resources.

8. Freeware: Peek Through is free to use.

With Peek Through, you can look behind the active window in a second and continue working. The program is no longer developed and the developer's website is offline, so version 1.1 is the last release. It remains a simple tool for users who often work with overlapping windows.