A frame that allows you to have an image or even PDF displayed semi-transparently in front of everything. It enables you to easily copy, trace, or compare designs, images, and documents since you can lock the frame and make it undisturbed by mouse gestures.
It’s a transparent overlay of an image or document on your screen that you can click through - like a transparent sticker on your screen.
Overlay is especially useful for artists, designers, and students as it allows you to make your art or design from or reference photos and screenshots.
features v2.00
- transparent overlay window is fully dragged moveable and resizable
- simply drag & drop to change your overlay photo / PDF document
- transparency can be set anywhere from 0% - 100%
- easy lock / unlock control from both the interface and menus.
v2.00 -> v2.30
options added according to the user's feature request
- autosave size, position, and picture fitting of the overlay window for easy resuming last work
v2.30 -> v3.25
see readme for detail due to the 4K words limit
v3.25 -> v3.30
- button size and style modified
- "see through" function added according to the user's feature request
- fix the version displaying bug on the support email subject
- tip window and tip contents modified
- icon color changed
v3.30 -> v3.32
- status bar menu added
- startup tip modified
- menu re-arranged for simplification
- more by dragonBTV simplified
- app size dramatically reduced
- performance improvements for macOS 10.13 High Sierra
v3.32 -> v3.40
- options add according to feature requests: select overlay image from the Open menu
- options add according to feature requests: overlay image can be simply switched from the Open Recent menu
- Tips for v3.40 added to explain Open / Open Recent options
v3.40 -> v3.42
- bug fixed for macOS Mojave, red lock ring and green unlock ring can be correctly displayed
- status menu bar icon auto-switched for the dark mode of macOS Mojave
- performance improvements for macOS 10.14 Mojave
v3.42 -> v3.45
- bug fixed for macOS Mojave, all alert dialog box color under dark mode
- bug fixed: About Overlay font color under the dark mode of macOS Mojave,
- bug fixed: More Apps by dragonBTV link works under macOS Mojave 10.14
v3.45 -> v3.46
- bug fixed: More Apps by dragonBTV link works again under macOS Mojave 10.14
- bug fixed under macOS Mojave: close interface accidentally
- hide dock icon option added to the Preferences menu
v3.46 -> v3.52
a newer version for macOS Mojave 10.14.5
- bug fixed: overlay image can be freely moved via scrollbar
- new option added: the overlay window can be fixed to one of your Desktops only
- the background color of tip windows modified
v3.52 -> v3.53 -> v3.60 -> v3.70 -> v3.80 -> v3.82
see readme for detail due to the 4K words limit of the description
v3.82 -> v4.01
Feature added according to user's feature request:
- Fully customizable Global HotKey toggled the hidden title bar
- overlay window can be moved via direct mouse dragging when in unlock mode
- overlay window will NOT be dragged moving when in rotate mode
- default color of the borderline in unlock mode changed to blue
- Toggle Hide / Unhide function added to all Menu
- Toggle Lock / Unlock Overlay added to all Menu
- Open Settings on Status Bar added to the main menu and dock menu
- bug fixed on saving the selection of Over Fullscreen mode
- what is Fullscreen & Over Fullscreen tip added
- Show Tips of v4.01 menu added
- More by dragonBTV menu updated
v4.01 -> v4.03, v4.10, v4.15, v4.21, v4.26, v4.28, v4.30, v4.32, v4.33, v4.34
see readme for detail due to the 4K words limit of the description
current version
v4.34 -> v4.40
- Bug Fix: Resolved crash issue when PDF file is used as overlay image on macOS 26.5+
- Update: Ensure compatibility with macOS Tahoe 26.5.1
This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Neat app!
Guestfyg
Needed to overlay some content while doing design work and this is just what I was looking for. Some suggestions for improvements:1.) Would love to be able to set the color of the frame's outer edge. Right now the bright green and red colors are distracting. In particular, it'd be great if we could set the outer edge to be transparent.2.) Would be great to be able to resize the frame of the window to whatever size I want. Right now there's a minimum height and width, but being able to make that smaller would make the tool more flexible.Thanks!
A super app at a super price
Gas Creature
This programmer really knows his/her chops. The program has ALL the features that you need from an image overlay tool. To the reviewer who labeled this a "Mostly pointless app", all I can say is, I'm sorry you misunderstood what you were buying; no, this is not a drawing nor annotating program.To help out other shoppers, let me explain how you use this program. Let's say you want to sketch your dog in a sketching program. You use your smartphone to take a picture of your dog and transfer the image file to your computer. Then your run this program. It has an empty window. From your file mananger (Finder), drag the picture file into the empty window using the mouse. Now, the dog is displayed. You then rotate and resize the image to your need to match the drawing tool (another program) that you're using. Then you move this picture program window over the drawing tool window, and click the "Lock Overlay" button. Finally, you start drawing your dog in your drawing program. Your picture floats ABOVE your drawing in a semi-transparent way. When you draw, you now have a way to make sure the drawing matches the photo. YAY!I do have two wishes:(1) It would be super-duper if you can run multiple instances of this program. In other words, several windows with several overlay images at the same time. For what I do, CAD, I actually need this feature.(2) It would be extremely helpful to be able to save the settings for a particular image. At the very least, if I can save the zoom and rotation so that when that particular image is loaded again, it looks like before, that would save a lot of time.Also, the Jiulong Zhao Web Site and Overlay Support are blocked in my browser because these try to compose an email when loaded. That is a security risk. The web pages there need to be changed: don't try to compose an email in html/javascript.
Works well
jbmfc
This is a useful app. The transparency works. Being able to lock it in place while allowing clicks and drags “through” its window helps reduce the number of clicks needed in my development cycle. The author has resonded to my feature requests, letting me know their prioritization.
Nice functionality
irishpaisa
I downloaded this app to add image prompts over my full screen apps in my classroom. It works well.Feature requests:- Please add support for transparent animated GIF's- Please make the toolbar transparent or more minimalist- Please add a way to hide the blue box around the image in the app. It would be great if it had a super transperent or minimal interface option
v4.34 -> v4.40
- Bug Fix: Resolved crash issue when PDF file is used as overlay image on macOS 26.5+
- Update: Ensure compatibility with macOS Tahoe 26.5.1
Version v4.40
The developer, Jiulong Zhao, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
