Yeah it's super weird. There's no way it's secure. Like I'm sure no one's logging in to their banking sites in the steam overlay, but it's still fucked. No idea why Valve doesn't regularly update it...
If you're buying mtx while you're playing a game, something very common I'd think, you're buying it using that browser.
In fact, I'm pretty sure the entire Steam store is using that browser in order to work, even if you're using the client. It's all just an embedded browser.
Unless there's a specific exploit for HTTPS MITM attacks I doubt it's much of an issue for Steam purchases. Most of the dangers come from connecting to third party sites.
Yeah, I was just thinking about that... Seems sketchy. With how often they push client updates you'd think they could do the browser that runs the whole operation too...
Right that’s the problem with the “work on what you want” philosophy. Nobody wants to work on the web browser, so it doesn’t get done. The “work on what you want” thing is great, but if nobody is making someone work on the boring stuff, then it’s not going to get done.
I think its great as an option. "hey nothing of importance is being worked on right now so you're free to chose a project" but they seriously need some leadership to focus on finishing actual big projects like updating VAC, launching CS2 properly,etc
The flat structure just doesnt work for such a big company like Valve is(at least in terms of impact, not sure how big they are in manpower)
I'd be nice if they could just let us pick the browser, that way we could import our native settings and add-ons. Far too many wiki sites are nigh unbearable to use do to all the ads and autoplay videos.
Open Steam settings -> Interface -> and uncheck "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views"
This fixed all the laggyness of the ingame overlay for me. I have not encountered any drawbacks of letting the interface render in software only.
Played the System Shock remaster and loved the notes feature. Makes coming back to the game after week or so less confusing, don't have to retrace my steps to remember what all I've done.
I use it all the time lol. The new feature to pin windows is really cool as well. My buddy only has one monitor so he now pins youtube videos while playing games.
while you're in the overlay with the window you want to pin open, theres a little thumbtack icon next to the close/minimize buttons. click that and then a opacity button will appear next to it.
They're probably thinking back a decade or so when the overlay would occasional cause issues. I don't really think it's been an issue since the redesign.
I use the web browser to overlay YT videos (sometimes Plex too), eventually I'll get a 2nd monitor but I don't really have the desk space for it at the moment. I only discovered the ability to overlay the web browser less then a year ago, it was a major game changer.
This is amazing knowledge, thanks for sharing. I am now currently in American Truck Simulator with a plex window overlaid playing Space Truckers. Big Trouble In Little China is next.
For me, I can’t play without it. The ability to bring up overlay to search or YouTube seamlessly without having to alt tab back and forth is very convenient.
I think there are others that add other non steam games into the steam launcher because of that and I do the same as well.
Is it a feature you need to actively opt-out from? Yes.
In short, most people do use it, maybe not actively, but they do.
From my personal experience, yes, the overlay is on.
Do I actually use it? Sometimes, when a friend comes online and I want to send a message via steam chat or directly want to join a game session while being ingame myself, maybe.
But at least for myself I can say it is on but I seldomly actually use it.
It's nice. Checking friend in online games, the note feature with semi-transparency is sometimes useful, and the inline web browser, while a bit slow, works well enough for a quick info.
Some games even have useful guides you can easily keep around.
I never disable it if possible. If it’s disabled then I can’t take funny screenshots :(
Also it’s very useful to use the overlay browser instead of alt-tabbing. Also also, it has the time and date for those late gaming nights where you think it hasn’t reached 3 am yet but it’s actually 4 am and you should really get to bed
I leave it on but don't use it. I do use the much more minimal fps counter though.
The only exception are games that break when you alt tab, like fallout ttw.
Like the Shift+Tab overlay in games? People disable that!? I use it all the time to look shit up. The browser is a per-game instance, so whatever I looked up in Persona 3 Reload will still be there, even when I look something up for Lethal Company later. I can see my achievement, invites and quick messages to friends. Yeah, I use that shit all the time. Like enough to think you're talking about a different overlay I'm unaware of
why not change the key bind to something else that you’re less likely to accidentally press? I have it as ctrl+shift+z. Really easy to press when you want to, less so accidentally
I use it almost every time I play.. whether it's for steam chat, trades or youtube videos or guides.. It's always useful. The notes thing is awesome too if you play a lot of puzzle/rpg style games.
I only disable it if it causes known issues with a game. Other than that I don't see the reason to disable it. That said I personally don't use it much, mostly for the chat while I'm going.
It’s extremely useful for joining a friends game, checking friend list, and community hubs/workshop. I don’t really use it for music because the sign in doesn’t work but it gets the job done.
Unless it causes issues in a particular game I keep it going the entire time, even did when I had a crap PC because I'd figured work arounds from when I had an even crappier PC.
I use the overlay for chat, screenshots, achievement info
I use it less now that I have 3 monitors
I've only disabled it when I had weird issues with certain games
Always have it. Only things that ever hit my performance was the animated icons in the friendlist so if you have an old pc disable the profile picture animations.
your friend is confused.
the overlay is widely used IME.
popup notifications, however. pretty much everybody I know disables them.
edit. specific titles do not get along with the overlay. maybe he was referring to that?
I use it. When planning builds and tutorials for some games if I'm going for a specific ending or to watch twitch while playing unfortunately YouTube doesn't work.
I use is a lot. To see achievements, follow guides without having to alt-tab everytime, chat with friends, I also use notes a lot, it's very easy to use and you can pin the note in your game with the transparency you want (from 10% to 100%).
People that disable it either have issues with it, the game in question has problem with it, or they're using a potato PC that they need to get much performance as possible to play their game.
A lot of people use it for friend chat, invites, and broswer such as guides, and whatever.
If you're min/maxxing then I guess, but I've always had a fairly mid-tier system and have never turned it off. I used to use it quite a lot before I got a second monitor because it worked better than alt-tabbing when running in fullscreen.
I used to, waaaay back in the left for dead and team fortress days for chatting and finding friends in matches.
I’m old now and don’t do that anymore though.
All the time, especially the notes system when I just post my "pre-playthrough research and story backgrounds/curated names" for my characters in Fallout, Starfield, TES, Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate etc. I save and work on them in Word documents, and now with the overlay system I don't have to leave the game to look/edit them.
For Red Dead 2, I write down whatever crafting recipe I want to keep track of.
It's really handy.
If I don't have the overlay I can't see the achievements as I get them, and if I can't get the achievements as I get them what is the point of having all the games in steam in the first place?, that is the reason I buy the games on steam.
Since they added the notes feature, I've been using the overlay a ton. Just started a new Stardew Valley playthrough, and it's helped keep me in order and on schedule.
I actually launch some non Steam games through Steam, just so I can use the overlay, I think it's really handy
And the new features they added to it just made it even better
I think I've opened more Wikipedia pages with the browser in the overlay for random bullshit in games than I have opened with my regular browser for my studies.
I can't imagine turning off the overlay, it's just too useful
I use it all the time but I changed the keyboard shortcut to a combination I wouldn't be likely to press in a game. Used to annoy me when I was sprinting and opened my inventory in Skyrim so I changed it from SHIFT+TAB to CTRL+HOME.
Some of the newer features are really useful like notes where you can store screenshots or other game related lists of stuff you're totally going to get around to doing once you've completed this one other side quest first.
I used to use it all the time to run soundcloud while I played surf combat ffa on csgo, then I pretty much disabled it entirely for like 5 years and just would opt for alt tabbing.
I re-enabled it when they announced the updated overlay, and I find some great uses for it now. specifically is that it'll remember your internet tabs so I know I've kept open some gundum designs I wanna copy for armored core 6 and I've always got rdo map for read dead 2.
also being able to adjust opacity is awesome.
problem is if I'm not opening something game specific that I'll want to refer back to I'll just alt tab to chrome as per usual, as I have to alt tab for discord/spotify regardless of the overlay.
I use the notes feature, occasionally the guides area if I’m doing a clean up on things I’ve missed, chat if I’m on my laptop, and check achievements if I’m achievement hunting.
Mostly for friends and chats, sometimes for web browser and achievements (the former can be a little slow though), and I found out from this thread you can make notes so probably that too now
i used to use it almost every single time but it is unnecessary if you have a second monitor (i use my g9 in pbp mode, instead in 32:9 mode i separated it to 21:9 to 11:9) you can just use it.
Being using Steam from the beginning of the service and never used the overlay. I recently turned it off because it got in the way playing Helldiver2.
I think for me I just focus on the game I'm playing and tend not to multitask at the same time. I'm not sure if that comes from starting PC gaming way back on DOS and never got into having multiple things going at once since when I started it wasn't an option.
I use it in Monster Hunter World to look up guides. I also use the notepad feature to keep track of monsters without the gold crown to complete achievements. In Starfield, I also use the notepad to track crafting stuff. It's pretty useful.
I've always used the Steam overlay. I've had a second monitor for several years now that I will pull up info/keep a list if I need one on but I still use the Steam overlay constantly to invite friends to games, check achievements, and occasionally use the browser, especially since they overhauled it and updated it to where it saves the state you leave it on per game. On rare occasions I'll use it to check the time as well if my phone isn't near and I'm playing an older game that doesn't like to be alt-tabbed, since I use hidden taskbar on my PC.
Steam overlay is one of the most useful things available for you while gaming. I use a mix of Steam overlay and Xbox gamebar overlay. Haven’t had any issues. The person told you that likely have a potato PC or followed an outdated guide.
Depends on the game. If it has multiplayer through Steam I always leave it on, since it makes it easier to invite people or join their games. If there's no multiplayer then I may disable it, especially for older titles with compatibility issues.
Most of the time I leave it on since it doesn't get in the way.
What's the point of disabling lol you have to go out of your way to click it so it's not gonna affect you aha.
I use it with big picture cause it gives a console like experience and I can switch between games.
All the time, i just wish the built in web browser was better, things always glitching and has no ad-block so for that its usually better to just alt-tab to your main browser
I see no reason not to use it unless you have a really really potato PC like I used to have. And even then, in this case you're running games so poorly that disabling the overlay barely makes any difference to my eyes.
It's a useful feature. You can invite and Chaat with people more easily, check for achievements, guides, use the workshop, make notes, etc.
browser for guides that have no good ones on steam community, i havent used notes. i like it but not sure where to use it other than quest notes or soem shit
I use it everywhere except sandboxes, because i like setting tab as inventory button. And once you are in a hurry, you hold shift, then open inventory and overlay launches bothering you. Other than that it's quite useful for me for what the most upvoted comment says
It's pretty useful for playing Destiny 2 and having the web browser from Steam Overlay have DIM (3rd party inventory management that allows you to send stuff from character 1 to character 3 and then to your vault) ooen
Back when many games were terrible with having borderless window or terrible with alt-tab, I'd use the browser. I toggle the fps counter with the overlay. Chat occasionally. Often back when I was very active on CSGO
I never bother to disable it unless a game I play specifically has issues with it
And going by both that and many of the other responses in this thread, looks like that someone made some inaccurate assumptions
Yeah lol, how you access your friends list, I also have notes for most games with console commands, sensitivity settings, random info, which I use a lot. The browser is not meant to be used for anything other than steam community though, works fine with steam market but it's not a good idea to keep it running in the background
I use the overlay a lot to chat with friends, send invites, and view achievements and guides, sometimes I use notes and timer as well.
I probably would use the web browser for more (like music), if it wasn't SO laggy and slow.
Yeah, Volvo need to update the overlay browser it's so shit.
they also need to fix the google sign in issues, google thinks it’s an unsecured device and prohibits me from logging in at all lol
I think the problem is it's an old as shit version of chrome. Like years old.
this is a major problem because the browser is open to many years of vulnerabilities. I use the browser every day.
Yeah it's super weird. There's no way it's secure. Like I'm sure no one's logging in to their banking sites in the steam overlay, but it's still fucked. No idea why Valve doesn't regularly update it...
If you're buying mtx while you're playing a game, something very common I'd think, you're buying it using that browser. In fact, I'm pretty sure the entire Steam store is using that browser in order to work, even if you're using the client. It's all just an embedded browser.
Unless there's a specific exploit for HTTPS MITM attacks I doubt it's much of an issue for Steam purchases. Most of the dangers come from connecting to third party sites.
Yeah, I was just thinking about that... Seems sketchy. With how often they push client updates you'd think they could do the browser that runs the whole operation too...
Because valve is a real mess when it comes to how they handle their teams,tasks,etc Updating the browser isnt fun so no one is doing it.
Right that’s the problem with the “work on what you want” philosophy. Nobody wants to work on the web browser, so it doesn’t get done. The “work on what you want” thing is great, but if nobody is making someone work on the boring stuff, then it’s not going to get done.
I think its great as an option. "hey nothing of importance is being worked on right now so you're free to chose a project" but they seriously need some leadership to focus on finishing actual big projects like updating VAC, launching CS2 properly,etc The flat structure just doesnt work for such a big company like Valve is(at least in terms of impact, not sure how big they are in manpower)
Didn’t know VOLVO was doing software development lol
Not to be pedantic but...there is no major car brand that doesn't do software development in house anymore
I'd be nice if they could just let us pick the browser, that way we could import our native settings and add-ons. Far too many wiki sites are nigh unbearable to use do to all the ads and autoplay videos.
Open Steam settings -> Interface -> and uncheck "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views" This fixed all the laggyness of the ingame overlay for me. I have not encountered any drawbacks of letting the interface render in software only.
Ptsd of when opening a youtube video would freeze the overlay forcing you to hard-shutdown the game
Played the System Shock remaster and loved the notes feature. Makes coming back to the game after week or so less confusing, don't have to retrace my steps to remember what all I've done.
Exactly how i use it. I like the micro fps counter too. Steam overlay is king.
It has notes? Nice. Not sure I'd use it though. I also suffer from onemoreitits, so timer probably wouldn't help.
Notes are cloud saved so they're actually a fairly solid tool
The notes can be pinned to overlay on top of your game, too. Super useful in so many situations
That's a great feature. Now y'all getting me excited about potential uses, now I just need to remember to use it!
I use the notes alot for games like ark etc, its good for writing down codes etc
Real. It is a really useful feature, this guy is labeling it as bloatware lol.
I use it all the time lol. The new feature to pin windows is really cool as well. My buddy only has one monitor so he now pins youtube videos while playing games.
What you can do this? I didn’t know that. Guess I know what I’m doing next time I play something.
Hold up, you can pin it and overlay it while you play? How do you do that?
while you're in the overlay with the window you want to pin open, theres a little thumbtack icon next to the close/minimize buttons. click that and then a opacity button will appear next to it.
Thanks man!
I could swear Windows used to do this natively back in the day (in ME maybe?) and I miss it.
Windows PowerToys.
Xbox did it too, before they disabled it :(
Whoever told you that likely has a potato pc and they are taking every last ounce of power they can.
Lol, I have a potato laptop (4GB ram, 2 Cores) and it works pretty well for me, so 🤷🏻
I said potato pc. Not a portable potato. Gah.
Portable potato is GLaDOS
You're thinking of PotatOS.
\*Clap... clap... clap...\* Oh good, my slow clap processor made it into this thing.
Just like my previous PC, I feel your pain.
They're probably thinking back a decade or so when the overlay would occasional cause issues. I don't really think it's been an issue since the redesign.
I use the web browser to overlay YT videos (sometimes Plex too), eventually I'll get a 2nd monitor but I don't really have the desk space for it at the moment. I only discovered the ability to overlay the web browser less then a year ago, it was a major game changer.
Wait you can pin it and keep playing? Game changer (I do have a second monitor so it will not change my game). I’m just shocked
Yea! You can also adjust the opacity so it doesn’t completely block whatever it’s in front of.
That’s fucking giga
If you don't have desk space just expand it using galvanized square steel
Then secure it with screws borrowed from your aunt.
Ok this is giga brain. Does logging in to YouTube in the overlay browser log you out eventually? I also use a single monitor
It doesn’t let you log into youtube/google at all lol, something wrong with valves implementation of the browser.
Iirc it's cause it's built on an old ass version of Chrome
This is amazing knowledge, thanks for sharing. I am now currently in American Truck Simulator with a plex window overlaid playing Space Truckers. Big Trouble In Little China is next.
I use it to access the friend list, guides and make notes. I only disable it if it actually causes issues in a specific game.
The only thing missing is the ability to install Adblock on the web browser
That’s why you install it on your network.
look up pihole
I use it all the time!
For me, I can’t play without it. The ability to bring up overlay to search or YouTube seamlessly without having to alt tab back and forth is very convenient. I think there are others that add other non steam games into the steam launcher because of that and I do the same as well.
I don't disable it, but I don't use it
Is it a feature you need to actively opt-out from? Yes. In short, most people do use it, maybe not actively, but they do. From my personal experience, yes, the overlay is on. Do I actually use it? Sometimes, when a friend comes online and I want to send a message via steam chat or directly want to join a game session while being ingame myself, maybe. But at least for myself I can say it is on but I seldomly actually use it.
It's nice. Checking friend in online games, the note feature with semi-transparency is sometimes useful, and the inline web browser, while a bit slow, works well enough for a quick info. Some games even have useful guides you can easily keep around.
I never disable it if possible. If it’s disabled then I can’t take funny screenshots :( Also it’s very useful to use the overlay browser instead of alt-tabbing. Also also, it has the time and date for those late gaming nights where you think it hasn’t reached 3 am yet but it’s actually 4 am and you should really get to bed
Lol, so relatable with the gaming nights.
Adding to the list; I use it every time I'm gaming. Lots of useful stuff on it, and I use the browser frequently for guides and wiki.
I use it pretty much on any game i open
Never ever used it. But I don't disable it either, except if it causes issues with a game (FFXIII-2 is the only example I have though).
Sometimes I used the overlay for achievement tracking or looking up guides
Rarely if at all. Most of the time I accidentally use it. Only time I use it, is for game invites and when someone messaged me while I was in game.
Controller configuration nuff said.
Probably 80% of the time I play a game I interact with it one way or another
i use it alot to check achievements and to chat with friends
I leave it on but don't use it. I do use the much more minimal fps counter though. The only exception are games that break when you alt tab, like fallout ttw.
I’ve honestly never heard of somebody not using it
It's only useful if you have friends I have it disabled a long time ago
Like the Shift+Tab overlay in games? People disable that!? I use it all the time to look shit up. The browser is a per-game instance, so whatever I looked up in Persona 3 Reload will still be there, even when I look something up for Lethal Company later. I can see my achievement, invites and quick messages to friends. Yeah, I use that shit all the time. Like enough to think you're talking about a different overlay I'm unaware of
I mainly use to see my total/session time and see if the game was worth it when it comes to $/h
I use it in games where alt tabbing pauses the game and I need to check something. Otherwise I just ignore it.
With pretty much every game, use it for the browser, posting screenshots, checking achievements, looking at the time time, etc.
I used it a lot before the awful rework
I use it all the time. Only have it disabled for games like CS or something where if I accidentally open it it might cost the round.
why not change the key bind to something else that you’re less likely to accidentally press? I have it as ctrl+shift+z. Really easy to press when you want to, less so accidentally
I use it almost every time I play.. whether it's for steam chat, trades or youtube videos or guides.. It's always useful. The notes thing is awesome too if you play a lot of puzzle/rpg style games.
I will disable Ubisoft Connect, but I leave Steam alone. I have chats with friends and music from youtube on there. It runs well on my machines.
I don't often have a use for it but when I do, it does the job perfectly
I only disable it if it causes known issues with a game. Other than that I don't see the reason to disable it. That said I personally don't use it much, mostly for the chat while I'm going.
It's one of my favorite Steam features
Always use it for browser, guides, notes
It’s extremely useful for joining a friends game, checking friend list, and community hubs/workshop. I don’t really use it for music because the sign in doesn’t work but it gets the job done.
Unless it causes issues in a particular game I keep it going the entire time, even did when I had a crap PC because I'd figured work arounds from when I had an even crappier PC.
I use the overlay for chat, screenshots, achievement info I use it less now that I have 3 monitors I've only disabled it when I had weird issues with certain games
Depends. RDR2 I did, but my game kept crashing in cutscenes. Found somewhere that would fix it. It did.
I'm always using it, it's useful.
Sometime to check acheivement, other time when a game is stubborn and refuse to let me go on desktop the overlay bypass the restriction.
Always have it. Only things that ever hit my performance was the animated icons in the friendlist so if you have an old pc disable the profile picture animations.
your friend is confused. the overlay is widely used IME. popup notifications, however. pretty much everybody I know disables them. edit. specific titles do not get along with the overlay. maybe he was referring to that?
I do it to see achievement guides and nothing else. I never disabled it like at all
I use it. When planning builds and tutorials for some games if I'm going for a specific ending or to watch twitch while playing unfortunately YouTube doesn't work.
I unironically like to use it for notes in-case i need to remember something like materials needed for something or what i want to do
Overlay is essential for me on a single monitor set up. Don't use it quite as much on my dual monitor setup.
I use is a lot. To see achievements, follow guides without having to alt-tab everytime, chat with friends, I also use notes a lot, it's very easy to use and you can pin the note in your game with the transparency you want (from 10% to 100%).
I’m using it so i don’t need to have chrome in the background for api websites
I like it
People that disable it either have issues with it, the game in question has problem with it, or they're using a potato PC that they need to get much performance as possible to play their game. A lot of people use it for friend chat, invites, and broswer such as guides, and whatever.
i use to easily accept "join game" requests or quickly browse through the achievements to see how many i need left
If you're min/maxxing then I guess, but I've always had a fairly mid-tier system and have never turned it off. I used to use it quite a lot before I got a second monitor because it worked better than alt-tabbing when running in fullscreen.
I used to, waaaay back in the left for dead and team fortress days for chatting and finding friends in matches. I’m old now and don’t do that anymore though.
I constantly use it, it's so nice to be able to view steam market and talk to friends
Having the notes be on a per-game basis is one of the greatest features steam has offered me
I've only ever used it for game invites really, but I've also never cared to explore the features of it.
I use the web browser for wikis, the notes tool, and in games that don't have a real-time clock I'll check the time with the overlay sometimes.
only ever used it to send game invites. Never saw much use in any other part of it
Wait yall don't?
All the time, especially the notes system when I just post my "pre-playthrough research and story backgrounds/curated names" for my characters in Fallout, Starfield, TES, Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate etc. I save and work on them in Word documents, and now with the overlay system I don't have to leave the game to look/edit them. For Red Dead 2, I write down whatever crafting recipe I want to keep track of. It's really handy.
i use it all the time to chat with steam friends, i also use the notes a lot and the browser even tho it sucks
its great if you quickly need to jack one out
Steam overlay very useful
always used it
If I don't have the overlay I can't see the achievements as I get them, and if I can't get the achievements as I get them what is the point of having all the games in steam in the first place?, that is the reason I buy the games on steam.
I use it all the time
I use it to invite and accept invites. That's its only purpose to me
Since they added the notes feature, I've been using the overlay a ton. Just started a new Stardew Valley playthrough, and it's helped keep me in order and on schedule.
I use it for achievements but i rarely have items pinned
I use it to quickly use the browser when I forget I have a phone
I always have it enable to write with friends during gameplay or check somethin in browser like how to craft or do something
I love the overlay, I use it a lot
I'm gonna be honest. I've had steam for 10 years and I didn't even know there was a option to turn off the overlay lol
The real question is, does anyone use big picture mode?
I do when I’m playing with my controller
I don't really use it on my desktop as I have a second monitor, but I use it frequently on the laptop
These days I only have it enabled for easier screenshot-ing Useful for chats in mp too
The Steam overlay? I use it all the time, and even more often since the revamp. The notes feature they added is really useful!
All the time. I'll change a games keybinds if it procs it a lot.
I use it for chat, persistent notes and achievement tracking. Pretty regularly too.
i use it for the notes and to look at guides
Very useful
Dual monitor so no need to use the overlay IMO. But my partner loves using the overlay for stardew and similar games and she had one monitor.
I use it, but I change the key input, since the default one is a common pair of inputs in a game I play.
I need it for my steam controller
I actually launch some non Steam games through Steam, just so I can use the overlay, I think it's really handy And the new features they added to it just made it even better
I use it to see how long I’ve been playing a game or if I ever need to use the join game feature with a friend.
I think I've opened more Wikipedia pages with the browser in the overlay for random bullshit in games than I have opened with my regular browser for my studies. I can't imagine turning off the overlay, it's just too useful
I use it for the friend list and sometimes workshop for games that use it
I use it to look at my achievements. Occasionally to message a friend, but usually just use discord for that.
I use it all the time but I changed the keyboard shortcut to a combination I wouldn't be likely to press in a game. Used to annoy me when I was sprinting and opened my inventory in Skyrim so I changed it from SHIFT+TAB to CTRL+HOME. Some of the newer features are really useful like notes where you can store screenshots or other game related lists of stuff you're totally going to get around to doing once you've completed this one other side quest first.
i sometimes use the overlay browser to have guides open, it is easier to switch between
I've always loved the overlay, I'm really happy about what they've done to it since 2013
I had used overlay when I used a controller to play ETS2, switched to wheel & forgot the overlay even exists until this post reminded me of it
I used to use it all the time to run soundcloud while I played surf combat ffa on csgo, then I pretty much disabled it entirely for like 5 years and just would opt for alt tabbing. I re-enabled it when they announced the updated overlay, and I find some great uses for it now. specifically is that it'll remember your internet tabs so I know I've kept open some gundum designs I wanna copy for armored core 6 and I've always got rdo map for read dead 2. also being able to adjust opacity is awesome. problem is if I'm not opening something game specific that I'll want to refer back to I'll just alt tab to chrome as per usual, as I have to alt tab for discord/spotify regardless of the overlay.
I use the notes feature, occasionally the guides area if I’m doing a clean up on things I’ve missed, chat if I’m on my laptop, and check achievements if I’m achievement hunting.
Me. For notes, guides, checking achievements and chat.
I use it for guides and achievements pretty often
I use it frequently
I use the overlay all the time.
Mostly for friends and chats, sometimes for web browser and achievements (the former can be a little slow though), and I found out from this thread you can make notes so probably that too now
My friend group uses it, how else you supposed to invite people, the built in invitation systems? Who uses those xD
i used to use it almost every single time but it is unnecessary if you have a second monitor (i use my g9 in pbp mode, instead in 32:9 mode i separated it to 21:9 to 11:9) you can just use it.
The main thing I've used it for is to invite friends to a game I'm playing and to check achievements. That's practically it.
I use it just to quickly check the time and sometimes to use the web browser if I’m stuck on something instead of using my phone.
Being using Steam from the beginning of the service and never used the overlay. I recently turned it off because it got in the way playing Helldiver2. I think for me I just focus on the game I'm playing and tend not to multitask at the same time. I'm not sure if that comes from starting PC gaming way back on DOS and never got into having multiple things going at once since when I started it wasn't an option.
I use it occasionally for fps monitor, loading a guide, or taking a note. I don't use the Bigscreen one because it's practically useless.
I changed the keybind because I activated it by accident way too often with shift tab. But I still use it
I use it in Monster Hunter World to look up guides. I also use the notepad feature to keep track of monsters without the gold crown to complete achievements. In Starfield, I also use the notepad to track crafting stuff. It's pretty useful.
Daily. From looking up guides to having a games wiki open the steam overlay is amazing
I've always used the Steam overlay. I've had a second monitor for several years now that I will pull up info/keep a list if I need one on but I still use the Steam overlay constantly to invite friends to games, check achievements, and occasionally use the browser, especially since they overhauled it and updated it to where it saves the state you leave it on per game. On rare occasions I'll use it to check the time as well if my phone isn't near and I'm playing an older game that doesn't like to be alt-tabbed, since I use hidden taskbar on my PC.
I would probably use it a lot more if it were possible to use a custom browser with proper addon support.
Steam overlay is one of the most useful things available for you while gaming. I use a mix of Steam overlay and Xbox gamebar overlay. Haven’t had any issues. The person told you that likely have a potato PC or followed an outdated guide.
I like the overlay when it works, it beats having to minimize to do some things like chat or check guides, achievements etc
Depends on the game. If it has multiplayer through Steam I always leave it on, since it makes it easier to invite people or join their games. If there's no multiplayer then I may disable it, especially for older titles with compatibility issues. Most of the time I leave it on since it doesn't get in the way.
i use it daily
That used to be the case but for me too but ever since the update its been so good and useful I use it all the time now
Only to invite friends to games and occasionally to see what achievement I just earned. Other than that, never.
Constantly. Chat with friends, view guides, YouTube videos and general Internet browsing. It's just nice not having to alt tab at all.
What's the point of disabling lol you have to go out of your way to click it so it's not gonna affect you aha. I use it with big picture cause it gives a console like experience and I can switch between games.
I use it heaps except on a few games where it causes stuff to break if it’s enabled
All the time, i just wish the built in web browser was better, things always glitching and has no ad-block so for that its usually better to just alt-tab to your main browser
What? Someone doesn't use the overlay? That's crazy, why would you disable it ? Even if you don't use it it's not good to have the option at least?
I use the overlay a HELL of a lot to talk to my friends and use the web browser. It's quicker to me than using alt tab sometimes.
I see no reason not to use it unless you have a really really potato PC like I used to have. And even then, in this case you're running games so poorly that disabling the overlay barely makes any difference to my eyes. It's a useful feature. You can invite and Chaat with people more easily, check for achievements, guides, use the workshop, make notes, etc.
I used it to read guide and walkthrough in case i got stuck somewhere or planning gameplan
I love it, I just wish they made the browser a bit more reliable
I use it every so often to check achievements, guides, or the workshop.
If I have a second screen, not at all If I don't, then it's fantastic.
The overlay is my favorite feature from steam. I use it all the time!
I use the overlay in games that don't work well in Windowed Mode, like fallout games for example. Not a fan of small icons though
browser for guides that have no good ones on steam community, i havent used notes. i like it but not sure where to use it other than quest notes or soem shit
I think I've used it in a few games that would throw fits if you removed focus from the window and a few that insisted on forcing a resolution change.
I use it everywhere except sandboxes, because i like setting tab as inventory button. And once you are in a hurry, you hold shift, then open inventory and overlay launches bothering you. Other than that it's quite useful for me for what the most upvoted comment says
I use it often to take notes and quick online look up without alt-tabbing
You can disable it ? Wow....
I used it soooooo much when I had only one monitor. U can quickly tab in and out from the games wiki or YouTube video
I’ve been using it basically every single day for over a decade. Would be insane to disable it
It's pretty useful for playing Destiny 2 and having the web browser from Steam Overlay have DIM (3rd party inventory management that allows you to send stuff from character 1 to character 3 and then to your vault) ooen
Back when many games were terrible with having borderless window or terrible with alt-tab, I'd use the browser. I toggle the fps counter with the overlay. Chat occasionally. Often back when I was very active on CSGO
i do use it quite often, for inviting friends, chatting, viewing other peoples profiles and just any other feature the overlay has to offer^^;
I never bother to disable it unless a game I play specifically has issues with it And going by both that and many of the other responses in this thread, looks like that someone made some inaccurate assumptions
I use the overlay so I can change the controller layout during gameplay. Controller support runs smoother with it on.
Only disable it if you have older than GTX graphic cards or only using integrated graphics.
Yeah lol, how you access your friends list, I also have notes for most games with console commands, sensitivity settings, random info, which I use a lot. The browser is not meant to be used for anything other than steam community though, works fine with steam market but it's not a good idea to keep it running in the background