As a Twitch streamer, keeping an eye on your chat is crucial for engaging with your viewers and growing your community. However, if you only have one monitor, reading the Twitch chat while gaming can be challenging.
Fortunately, there is a handy Twitch feature that allows you to pop out the chat into a separate resizable window. With chat in its own dedicated window, you can position it anywhere for easy viewing as you game or stream.
In this comprehensive guide, you‘ll learn how to pop out Twitch chat in just three quick steps. We‘ll also dive deeper into customizing, troubleshooting, and getting the most out of your popout chat experience. Let‘s get started!
Why the Twitch Chat Matters
Before we pop out the chat, let‘s discuss why actively engaging with your Twitch chat is so important:
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Interact with viewers – Reading and replying to chat messages shows viewers you care and are paying attention. This breeds loyalty!
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Foster community – Engaging in chat helps convert viewers into regulars. They‘ll be more likely to return to an interactive stream.
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Gain insights – Your chat provides useful feedback on your stream. Take note of what viewers are saying.
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Increase discovery – More chat activity signals an engaging stream, leading to more organic promotion on Twitch.
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Boost engagement – Responding to questions and chatting along incentives more viewers to participate.
According to statistics from StreamHatchet, Twitch channels with high chat participation saw a 5% higher viewer retention compared to silent streams. Channels with engaged chat also experienced more follower growth.
Bottom line – properly monitoring and engaging with your Twitch chat has tangible benefits for growing your viewership and community. Now let‘s focus on the tool that makes this easier – popping out chat!
Overview: Popping Out Twitch Chat
Popping out the Twitch chat creates a new window that contains only the chat from a specific channel. This dedicated chat window can be moved, resized, and positioned for optimal visibility.
Benefits of popping out the chat include:
- Easier to monitor chat while gaming on a single monitor
- Resize and position the window as needed
- See chat over fullscreen games
- Keep an eye on any channel‘s chat, including your own
In my experience as a Twitch affiliate, the pop out chat feature has been invaluable. It has allowed me to stay engaged with my viewers no matter what games I‘m streaming.
Next, let‘s walk through how to pop out a Twitch chat step-by-step.
Step 1: Open the Chat Settings
First, navigate to the Twitch channel whose chat you want to pop out. This can be your own channel, or another channel you‘re currently watching.
Once the stream and chat are open, click the settings gear ⚙️ icon located at the bottom right of the chat window:
This will open up the settings menu for that specific channel‘s chat.
Step 2: Switch to Non-Mod View (If Applicable)
If you opened the chat settings on your own channel that you are moderating, you may see a "Mod View" option.
If you see the Mod View:
- Click on "Switch to Non-Mod View" at the bottom
- This will switch settings to the normal user options
If you do not see a Mod View option:
- You are already in the Non-Mod settings, so skip this step!
Step 3: Select "Popout Chat"
Now in the Non-Mod chat settings:
- Go to the "My Preferences" section
- Check the box next to "Popout Chat"
And voila! This will open the chat in a new standalone window you can move around.
With just those three quick steps, you can pop out any Twitch chat for easier viewing while gaming. Pretty simple right?
Now let‘s dive into customizing your popped out chat and tips for an optimal setup.
Customizing Your Popout Chat Window
One of the best things about the Twitch popout chat is that you have full control over the window. Here are some customizations you can make:
Move the window by clicking/dragging the title bar. Position it closer to your game or on a secondary monitor.
Resize the window by dragging the edges and corners to make it bigger or smaller as needed.
Pin the window on top so it doesn‘t get buried by other programs. Right click the title bar and select "Always on Top".
Adjust transparency by right clicking the title bar, pick "Transparency" and adjust as desired. Useful if you want to see through the chat.
Maximize by double clicking the title bar to make the chat fill the whole screen. Double click again to restore.
Reset the window by right clicking the title bar and choosing "Reset" to return it to default size and position.
Don‘t be afraid to tweak the popout chat window until it‘s positioned perfectly for your setup and streaming needs!
Optimal Popout Chat Setup Tips
Here are some best practices I‘ve learned for setting up an optimal popout chat experience:
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Dual monitors – If possible, a second monitor is best for glancing at chat while gaming. Pop out the chat and position on your secondary display.
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Picture-in-picture – On a single monitor, use a small popped out chat window positioned over your game in the corner. Like a picture-in-picture effect.
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Position strategically – Place the chat window closest to your natural field of view. For example, top left or right corner.
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Prioritize vertical – Resize the chat window taller rather than wider to see more message history.
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Manage transparency – Lower the transparency if the chat obscures too much of your game.
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Reset often – Regularly reset the window size/position to avoid it getting buried or too small.
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Preview your own chat – Pop out your channel‘s chat to see what viewers see and test engagement.
With some trial and error, you‘ll find your ideal popout chat setup in no time!
Pop Back In Your Chat Window
Once you‘re done streaming or watching another channel, you can easily close the popout chat window and return chat to its docked position.
To pop your chat back in, simply right click the popout chat window title bar and select Pop In:
This will close the window and dock the chat back into the sidebar where it started.
Comparing Chat Viewing Options
Let‘s compare the popout chat window to other Twitch chat viewing methods:
| Viewing Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Popout Chat | – Resizable/moveable window – Stays visible over fullscreen – Good for single monitor streaming | – Can minimize if clicks out of window – No chat replay – Not optimized for chatting |
| Mobile Chat | – Fully portable – Optimized chatting interface | – Need to look away from game – No chat replay – Small screen |
| Restream Chat | – Overlays chat from multiple platforms – Chat replay available | – Requires 3rd party software – Set up more complex |
| Dual Monitors | – Dedicated screen for chat – Natural viewing – More screen space | – Requires 2+ monitor setup – Difficult to read small chat |
As you can see, the native popout chat strikes a great balance by giving you a dedicated chat window without significant drawbacks.
Latest Twitch Chat Features
Twitch is continually releasing new chat features to optimize viewer interaction and moderation. Here are some of the latest updates:
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Chat replay – Ability to replay chat messages from the last 30 minutes when rewatching VODs.
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Polls – Broadcasters can now post interactive polls directly in chat to engage viewers.
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Emote auto-complete – As you type emote names, you‘ll see suggested emotes to easily pick from and insert.
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Banned term notifications – Mods will now be alerted if a viewer tries to post a banned word/phrase and it gets blocked.
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Improved mod tools – New moderator dashboard with ban history, activity logs, and more to manage your community.
Be sure to check your Twitch chat settings regularly for the latest features as they roll out!
Troubleshooting Popout Chat Issues
Here are some common popout chat issues and how to fix them:
Chat window closes/minimizes when clicking off: Unfortunately the popout chat will automatically minimize if you click outside of the window. Try positioning it very close to your game window to avoid this. Or consider a dual monitor setup.
Can‘t see popout option: Make sure you are in the Non-Mod chat settings, not Mod view. The popout option only shows for normal users. Double check you clicked "Switch to Non-Mod" if needed.
Popout chat not working: Try refreshing the page and starting the steps again. Close any existing popout windows and reopen a fresh one.
Blank/frozen popout chat: Refreshing the window typically fixes any display issues. Worst case close it fully and reopen.
Accidentally popped out main chat: If you want to undo popping out your main channel chat, click the "Pop In" option by right clicking the window‘s title bar.
Hopefully these troubleshooting tips help resolve any issues with your Twitch popout chat not working as expected!
Final Tips for Popout Chat Success
Here are a few final best practices to ensure your popout Twitch chat is optimized:
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Remember to periodically reset the window size if it gets buried or cut off screen.
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Close unused popout chat windows rather than minimizing to avoid clutter.
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Position the window thoughtfully based on your gaming setup and screen real estate.
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Keep an eye out for Twitch‘s latest chat features and updates.
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Troubleshoot issues right away if your chat window stops working properly.
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Consider a second monitor for the ideal popout chat experience.
Well that covers everything you need to know about popping out your Twitch chat! With this dedicated viewer interaction window, you‘ll be able to seamlessly monitor and engage with your audience no matter what games you‘re streaming.
Here‘s to better connecting with your viewers, boosting engagement, and growing your Twitch community!
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