Pin
Set PixPin pin restoration, history limits, zoom, click-through, image display, and text preferences, with defaults and Windows and macOS differences.
The Pin page manages pin creation, restoration, interaction, and display. Open the PixPin menu in the Windows tray or macOS menu bar, then choose Configuration → Pin.
Both platforms have Pin, Image, and Text groups; Windows also has Window Pin. The sections follow these groups, with the longer pin group divided by purpose.
Pin
Creation, restoration, and history
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Supported pin types | Select Image, Text, File, Color, and Latex Formula, all enabled by default. Uncheck a type if you do not want clipboard content recognized as that kind of pin |
| Restore unclosed pin on startup | On by default. Restores pins in the current group that were left open and can be recovered from records on the next launch |
| Pin display position | Defaults to Screenshot location. Content without a capture position appears at the center of the display under the mouse. Also offers Mouse location, Primary screen center, and Mouse screen center |
| Order of Restore Pin | Defaults to Sort by closure time, restoring the most recently closed pin first. Sort by creation time restores the most recently created closed pin first |
| Number of historical pin retained | Default 100, range 0–99999. Limits closed records in a pin group. Lowering it removes excess old records in the current group; 0 retains no closed records |
| When repeating pin | Defaults to Shake pin window, indicating identical content already exists. You can also choose No Action, restore the last closed pin window, or Repeat pin to create another |
| When the pin is replaced | When new content replaces a pin, defaults to Close source pin, allowing recovery from history. No Action retains the original; Destroy source pin deletes it and its record |
Records removed by a lower history limit do not return when you raise it again. Closing and destroying pins differ: closed pins can be restored within the retention limit; destroying deletes the record. See history.
Text selection, locking, and hints
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Text is selectable by default | On by default. Allows selecting text in new text pins and recognized text in image pins. Turn it off to reduce accidental text selection while dragging pins |
| Prohibited operations when locked | Select Disable move, Disable close by click, Disable close by key, and Disable accept drag, all checked by default. Determines which operations locking blocks |
| Show Locked Tips | On by default, showing a hint when a lock blocks an operation |
| Show Menu Shortcut | On by default, showing corresponding shortcuts in pin context menus |
| Secondary confirmation required | Controls Close pin via key, Destroy pin via key, Close pin via mouse, and Destroy pin via mouse, all checked by default. Uncheck only actions you no longer need confirmed |
These key confirmations apply to operations within pins. Closing or destroying through global shortcuts does not ask for each pin individually.
Zoom and thumbnails
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Zoom step size using scroll wheel (%) | Default 10, range 1–100. Higher values change zoom faster with the scroll wheel |
| Fine-tune zoom step size using scroll wheel (%) | Default 1, range 1–100. Used for fine zoom; by default, hold Alt on Windows or Option on macOS while scrolling |
| Step of wheel to adjust the opacity (%) | Default 5, range 1–100. Sets each opacity adjustment; by default, hold Ctrl on Windows or Command on macOS while scrolling |
| Mouse wheel zoom mode | Defaults to BaseOnTopLeft. Use the mouse, center, or any corner as the zoom origin. Disable turns wheel zoom off |
| Middle button zoom mode | Defaults to BaseOnMouse. Sets the origin when the middle button resets zoom and opacity, using the same choices above. Disable turns off this reset |
| Use borders to control window size | On by default, allowing pin resizing by dragging its border |
| Enable wheel zoom in thumbnail mode | On by default. Turn it off to prevent wheel zoom from changing size in thumbnail mode |
| Text selectable in thumbnail mode | Off by default. Enables selecting recognized text or text pin content in thumbnail mode |
| Thumbnail zoom mode | Defaults to Scale thumbnail and content, resizing the window and content together. Scale content only keeps the window size and zooms only the content inside |
By default, a middle click restores zoom and opacity to 100%; click again to return to the previous values. These mouse actions are customizable; the step settings determine the adjustment amount.
Display, export, and click-through
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Show Window Shadow | On by default, making pin edges easier to distinguish from the desktop |
| Pin window default opacity | Default 100, range 10–100. Lower values make windows behind a new pin more visible |
| Opacity reduced with mouse penetration enabled | Default 50, range 10–100. Enabling click-through reduces opacity to this value only if currently higher; lower values stay unchanged. Disabling click-through restores any opacity reduced this way |
| Show toolbar when mouse penetration enabled | On by default, keeping a toolbar for moving pins and adjusting opacity during click-through. Unchecking first asks for confirmation |
| Title position | Defaults to Bottom center, with Top center also available. Positions an assigned pin title |
| Image type when saving or copying | Defaults to Displayed Image, retaining current zoom, rotation, thumbnail area, and opacity. Original image exports complete content at original size without those display transforms, but still includes annotations |
| Pin window stays on top | On by default, placing new pins above other windows. Turn it off to use new pins as ordinary windows |
| Auto shrink when Pin is too large | On by default. Shrinks large pasted images and other content without a capture position to fit the screen |
| Adjust pin to makesure displayed | On by default. Brings offscreen pins into view after display layout changes or when showing pins again |
| Hide other pins when shaking | On by default. Quickly drag one pin back and forth to hide other pins; repeat to show them again |
| Keep other pins hidden when creating a new pin | Off by default: creating a pin restores other pins' visibility. When on, only the new pin appears and the others remain hidden |
Click-through passes clicks through the pin to windows behind it. Before hiding its toolbar, assign a shortcut to Open/Close mouse Penetration in Shortcuts/Actions so you can return to normal interaction.
Platform-specific options
| Platform / option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Windows: Show taskbar icon when pin is unpinned from top | On by default. Find an unpinned-from-top window through the taskbar. The first time you remove keep-on-top, PixPin asks whether to show the icon and remembers your choice. Keeping it on top again hides the icon |
| macOS: Pin desktop display | Defaults to All desktops, keeping pins visible across desktops. Current desktop restricts them to their desktop; Specific desktop adds a selector for normal or listed full-screen desktops. Changes also apply to existing pins |
Image
This group controls image pin transparency, scaling, and recognized-text interaction.
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Transparent layer processing by default | Defaults to Checkerboard Image, marking transparent areas with a checkerboard. Ignore Mouse ignores mouse operations in those areas; Accepting Mouse preserves their transparent appearance while allowing pin interaction there |
| Smooth zoom | On by default, smoothing enlarged and reduced images. Turn it off to inspect pixel edges |
| Show text menu | On by default, showing copy, highlight, and other actions after recognized text is selected. Turning it off only hides this menu |
| Text highlight colors | Five default swatches: pink, purple, blue, green, and yellow. Click a swatch and choose a replacement for that highlight-menu color |
Transparent layer handling applies only to transparent image areas; click-through applies to the whole pin. Configure them separately as needed.
Text
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Plain text max width (0 for unlimited) | Default 800, range 0–9999. Limits plain text layout width, wrapping long lines; 0 is unlimited. Reduce it to fit notes beside other content |
| Text padding | Default 6, range 0–100. Sets space between text and pin edges |
| Double-click pin text selection | Defaults to Paragraph, with Single line also available. Despite being in this group, it controls double-click selection of recognized text in image pins |
| Display HTML style | On by default, retaining HTML text styling. Off displays plain text. An individual pin's Ignore Format setting takes priority |
| HTML max width (0 for unlimited) | Default 0, range 0–9999. Independently limits HTML-styled content, separate from plain text width |
| Adaptive screen DPI | On by default, adjusting text to display scaling. Keep it on for displays with different scaling |
| Text font | Sets the default text pin font. Initial size is 16 pixels; fonts depend on installed families. Windows prefers Microsoft YaHei; macOS prefers available fonts such as Helvetica Neue |
| Text color | Defaults to black or white according to theme. Choose a custom plain text pin color |
| Background color | Defaults to white or dark gray according to theme. Choose a custom text pin background |
| Confirmation is required when pin long text | On by default. Asks before creating a pin from clipboard text exceeding 2048 characters. Turn it off to skip long-text confirmation |
When preserving HTML, its own fonts and colors can still determine appearance. Turn off HTML styling to consistently use the configured font, text color, and background. You can also toggle ignore format for an individual pin.
Window pin (Windows only)
This group contains only Hide original window, off by default. Normally, the original app window remains after creating a window pin. When on, new window pins hide the corresponding original window; closing the pin restores the original window's position.
The choice is set when creating a window pin, so create a new one to check changes. macOS does not show this group. See window pins for operation details.
Restore defaults
Click Restore Default at the bottom and confirm to reset this page's groups. Restore All Default also affects other pages. Resetting preferences cannot recover destroyed records or history removed by count limits.
Related articles
Screenshot
Set PixPin selection detection, magnifier, clipboard, history, polygon corners, long screenshots, and recording preferences on Windows and macOS.
Save
Choose manual save, quick save, auto save, or quick recording, and configure PixPin image quality, paths, filename variables, conflicts, and cleanup.