Windows can already put two windows side by side — until you maximize one and the split collapses. Always On Dock reserves a strip of the desktop through Windows itself, so the space stays yours no matter what you open next.
That's the whole problem. Snap and Snap Layouts arrange your windows once, and the arrangement survives right up until you maximize something — then the window you actually needed in view is buried underneath. "Always on top" solves it the wrong way around, floating a window over your work instead of making room for it.
Always On Dock claims the space instead of balancing windows in it. It registers as a Windows AppBar — the same mechanism the taskbar uses — so Windows genuinely shrinks the usable desktop. Maximized windows stop at the edge of your docked window. Nothing overlaps, and nothing gets buried.
The phrase covers several different features, which is worth being precise about before you pick one.
| What it is | What it does | Survives maximizing? |
|---|---|---|
| Snap & Snap Layouts | Arranges two or more windows side by side, once | No — maximize one and it takes the screen |
| Edge split screen | Divides a single browser window between two web pages | Browser only — doesn't apply to other apps |
| Always on top | Floats a window above the others | Stays visible, but covers your work instead |
| Always On Dock | Reserves desktop space that Windows marks unavailable | Yes — maximized windows stop at the edge |
Not just "always on top". Windows shrinks the desktop work area, so maximized windows stop at the dock instead of hiding it.
Drag in a second and third window — they split the strip vertically and share the height. Reorder them by dragging.
Turn a dock on for any combination of screens. Each one remembers its own width and comes back on the right monitors next sign-in.
Drag a window by its title bar over the strip and let go. Drag it out to undock — the window returns to exactly where it was.
Restore your docked windows (Ctrl+Alt+R), jump focus back to the dock (Ctrl+Alt+F), or launch a chosen program into it (Ctrl+Alt+L).
Pick from your installed programs, including Microsoft Store apps — no hunting through folders for an .exe.
Almost every desk job involves looking at two things at once. The difference is what belongs in the half that must never disappear.
Compare redlines against the executed version without either one sliding behind the other mid-review.
Reconcile line by line with the source document and a calculator permanently in view.
Keep ChatGPT, Claude, docs, or a video walkthrough in the reserved strip while your IDE takes the rest.
Copilot gets a built-in sidebar. Everything else is an ordinary window that gets buried — until you reserve it space.
Dock an asset browser, shot list, or reference clip while your editing timeline uses the full remaining screen.
Outline, brief, research, or the piece you’re rewriting stays open while you write in the main window.
A to-do list you have to alt-tab to is a to-do list you forget. Docked, it stays in front of you all day.
Keep a show running in the reserved strip for a child beside you, while your work takes the rest of the screen.
The one workflow where the split collapsing costs you your place in the document.
Watch what’s coming in while working the case in front of you.
Read from one, type into the other, without either window fighting for the screen.
Keep a live feed or dashboard visible while you work in a spreadsheet or place orders elsewhere.
See the full write-up, with a feature comparison for each role, on the split screen by profession page. Came here from OneNote’s discontinued-feeling "Dock to Desktop"? That works too — for every program, not just OneNote.
Always On Dock is $19.99 on the Microsoft Store, with a 1-day free trial. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Get it on Microsoft Store
