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Updated
How to Show a Floating Clock on Top of All Windows on Mac
With Dato
- Open the settings of Dato, and click “Extras”.
- Turn on “Floating clock”. The clock shows on the screen, and the first time, its settings open. Later, click “Customize…” to open them.
- Keep “above all windows and in fullscreen” in “Show”. To hide the clock in fullscreen apps, choose “above all windows”.
- Drag the clock to where you want it, and close the settings.
To move the clock later, hold Shift, and drag it. Without Shift, clicks go through the clock to the window below it, so it is never in the way. You can also drag it to another screen.
Tips
- Change “Font”, “Color”, and “Opacity”, and turn off “Background”, to make the clock large for a presentation, or small and faint for the corner of the screen.
- Set a keyboard shortcut in “Toggle” to show and hide the clock.
- Choose “on desktop background” in “Show” for a clock behind your windows. Then you can move it only while its settings are open.
Get Dato
Menu bar calendar and world clocks, plus fullscreen meeting notifications
$18, one-time purchase
- Platform
- macOS
- Requires
- macOS 26 or later
- Category
- Productivity
- Released
- July 2019
- Privacy
- No personal data collected
- Family Sharing
- Yes
- Updated
- November 2026
- Version
- 5.8.4
- Size
- 18 MB
- Setapp rating
- 99% positive (878 ratings)
Without an app
macOS can show a clock on the desktop:
- Control-click the desktop, and choose “Edit Widgets…”.
- Search for “Clock”, and drag a Clock widget to the desktop.
The widget is behind your windows, so you see it only when the desktop shows. In a fullscreen app, move the pointer to the top of the screen to show the menu bar with its clock. macOS has no clock that stays above your windows.