Ever wondered why popular Twitch streamers have a running chat while streaming? Letting your audience express their thoughts and responding to them is the best way to make them your followers. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to open a different chat window on your screen when you’re playing a full-screen game on Twitch.
As a new streamer, you might wonder how to view Twitch chat while streaming. You can utilize the ‘pop out chat’ feature on Twitch to open a new window for chats. However, this might take up a huge portion of the screen, making it difficult to see what’s happening in the game.
To avoid this, many streamers open chat on a second monitor or a mobile device. You can also use third-party apps to open Twitch chat and control how much space the chatroom will take on your screen. Let’s get into the details and find out how you can read all the messages on Twitch while streaming.
How to Read Twitch Chat While Streaming – 6 Easy Methods
If you want to open a separate chat room, you must consider a few things. First, the chat window shouldn’t be so large that it interrupts your gaming. Also, the text color and size have to be eye-catchy and easy to read.
To combine all these things, you need to learn the right process of setting up a chatroom. So, here are some easy ways to set up your Twitch stream chat and customize it.
Method One – Utilize the ‘Pop Out Chat’ Feature
Inside the Twitch app, you get the ‘pop out chat’ feature that opens a new window to display your Twitch chats. The chat window opens on top of all the other windows, including the one you’re gaming on. As mentioned, it will take up your valuable screen space and interrupt the game.
However, if you’re not playing a game that requires a full-screen view, you can turn on this feature to chat with your viewers. Here’s a step-by-step of opening your Twitch chat:
Step One – Open Your Creator Dashboard
First, you need to log into your Twitch account and start streaming. On the Twitch home page, navigate to the ‘Creator Dashboard’ option from the menu. Click on it and choose ‘Stream Manager’.
Now take a look towards the bottom of your screen. Do you see a tiny gear icon? Click on the tiny gear, and it will take you to a new window titled ‘Chat Settings’.
Step Two – Enable Pop-Out Chat
As you open the Twitch chat settings, a new menu will appear on your screen with several options. Scroll down to locate the ‘Pop Out Chat’ option and click on it to enable the feature. This way, a separate window will open on top, allowing you to read Twitch chat while you’re streaming.
Step Three – Change Chat Appearance
After opening your chatroom, you can go back to the chat settings. Click on ‘Chat Appearance’ to get the customizable options. If you want, change the font size of your chat texts, change colors, and set timestamp options. Twitch offers you four font sizes. Choose the one that’s large and easy to read for you and the viewers.
Now, turn the toggle bar next to the ‘Readable Colors’ option, as it will make the texts colorful and eye-catchy. Save the changes and open the chat to see if the new setup works for your viewers.
Method Two – Switch to Window Mode
When you turn on the window mode, your screen will split into two separate windows. You can play on one window while your stream chat opens in the other. As you switch to the windowed mode, the full-screen mode will be turned off, and you can see only a specific portion of the game.
However, it might be useful when you’re not playing and just conversing with your viewers. To turn on the window mode, press the Alt+Enter hotkey while you’re streaming.
Or, go to ‘Graphical Settings’ and search for the ‘Display Mode’ option. Click on it and choose ‘Window Mode’ from the menu. This will split the screen, and you’ll see a stream chat window and a separate streaming window.
Method Three- Use Text to Voice Software
If you want to focus only on your game, using a text to voice software is a good option to know what your viewers are saying without looking at their messages. The software will read the chat messages for you, and you can answer directly to the viewers.
You have the option to utilize two types of tools here: SpeechChat text-to-voice software and Chatbots.
Below are the details:
Enable SpeechChat for Twitch
- First, go to the official SpeechChat website and create an account. At the top-right corner of your screen, you’ll see the ‘Connect’ option. Click on it, and a drop-down menu will appear.
- From the menu, you can select from three given options: Google Drive, YouTube, and Twitch. Move the toggle next to ‘Twitch’ to enable the software for your Twitch chat.
- As you enable SpeechChat, a different window will appear on your screen, asking for permissions. Click on ‘Authorize’ to link your Twitch account to SpeechChat.
- Now go back to the SpeechChat tab, and you’ll see the ‘Control Panel’ option at the top. Click on it and choose ‘Voice’. Tick the blank space next to the ‘Enable Speech’ option, and your job is done!
You can configure the speech options from the Voice tab if you want. As the messages arrive, a computerized voice will read chat for you while you’re busy streaming.
Utilize Chatbots to Read Chat
While the text-to-voice software is free, Chatbots are paid tools that offer numerous special features like setting chat overlay, giving chat commands, creating events and giveaways, reading chat, donation alerts, and much more.
When using Chatbot text-to-speech, you get the option to mute troublemaking viewers, set donation alerts, and change the setting to only me so that no one else can hear the messages. I prefer bots like OWN3D or StreamElements as they pack the most useful features for Twitch streaming at a reasonable price.
Method Four – View Chat on a Second Monitor
Having two monitors for streaming and displaying chat is an effective way to manage your streams. Secondary streaming monitors are easy to find out online. If you have two monitors, you can use the larger one to display your game and camera footage, while the smaller one can interact with your audience.
Here’s how to use two different monitors to open Twitch chat while streaming-
Step One – Connect the Second Monitor
Use the graphics card or any compatible output of your PC to plug in the second monitor. After that, turn on your computer and right-click on the display. From the appeared menu, choose ‘Display Setting’. On the new page, you’ll see two boxes marked by the numbers 1 and 2. Click on the second box to get the settings for your second monitor.
Step Two – Set Up the Secondary Monitor
Now, scroll down and click on the ‘Multiple Displays’ option. Choose ‘Extend these Displays’ from the menu to be able to drag the graphics from one monitor to another. You can click on the ‘Display Orientation’ option to set the second display to landscape or portrait mode.
The display resolution option lets you choose the video quality on your secondary monitor. Select the ‘Apply’ option when you’re done setting up the configurations.
Step Three – Open Twitch Chat
To use two monitors while streaming, first, you need to go live on Twitch. Go to your creator dashboard and turn on pop-out chat. As the chatroom opens, you can easily drag the chat window to the secondary display while your game will still be playing on your primary monitor.
Method Five – Read Twitch Chat on Your Phone
If you have only one monitor, you can see Twitch chat on your mobile phone. It’s an effective way of displaying chat without spending anything extra on a new monitor. However, this is a distraction from the game, and you might feel uncomfortable watching the messages on a small screen.
To display Twitch messages on your phone, install the Twitch app and log into your Twitch account. On the top right side of your screen, you’ll see a text icon. Tap on it, and the chats will start appearing on your mobile screen.
Method Six – Open Twitch Chat Overlay with Third-Party Software
Most streamers on Twitch use third-party software to view Twitch chat from a single monitor. Below are the two most popular and trustworthy third-party apps you can use to display chats on your streaming screen.
See Twitch Chat with Restream
This versatile app can be integrated with different broadcasting software, including OBS and Streamlabs. Restream allows you to open a different chat window, insert a chat widget, analyze viewership, and much more. Here’s how to create a Twitch chat overlay with Restream-
Step One – Sign Up on Restream
From your browser, go to restream.io and sign up on the site. Link your Twitch channel to this restream account. Check out the header for the chat option and download it.
Step Two – Turn on the Chat Feature
Now go to the settings and connect the chat to your Twitch account. As the chat box appears, you can start customizing it. Click on the Cog icon to open the settings tab. From the left side of your screen, select the ‘Appearance’ option. Choose ‘Window Always on Top’ to open the chat box over all other windows.
Step Three – Control Chatbox
Restream offers you many handy chat features to customize the chat box. You can select ‘Enable Transparency’ to make the chat box transparent. Change the chat font size to increase readability. Set a hotkey to easily control the chat while you’re streaming.
Remember, you must play your game in window mode or borderless window mode so that your computer prioritizes the chat box over the game window.
Set Up Twitch Chat Overlay with Baffler
This Twitch chat overlay is transparent, and it allows you to set up a chat box over your game. Follow the steps given below to see Twitch chat using Baffler-
Step One – Download and Extract the File
First, you need to download Baffler on your computer. The program will be stored as a zip file. Extract it and run the program. If you have used the app before, it won’t ask for any permissions. In this case, you can skip the next step.
Step Two – Give Necessary Permissions
Baffler is a trusted program, and it won’t do any harm to your device. So, don’t hesitate to give the necessary permissions. When you run the program, a notification will appear on your screen with the message ‘Windows Protect Your PC.’ Click on the ‘More Info’ option and choose ‘Run Anyway.’
Step Three – Set Up Twitch Chat
Now, go to the settings and provide the information regarding your Twitch channel. A chat box will open, and you can use your mouse to drag and place anywhere you want. On the top corner of the chat, you’ll see the ‘O’ button. Click on it to hide the chat box borders.
Wrapping Up!
So now you know how to view Twitch chat while streaming. As we have discussed, there are multiple ways of opening chat on an adjacent window on your screen. If you ask which option is the best, I’d recommend getting a secondary monitor to view the messages from your audience.
Another great way of displaying chats is to use a third-party app like Restream. It will allow you to view chats on top of the gaming window and customize the chat box as per your requirements.
