How to Add AxelChat overlay with transparent background in OBS

[3dproger]

How to Add AxelChat overlay with transparent background in OBS

The article is relevant for AxelChat 0.37.14 and OBS 30.2.3

At the moment I can offer 4 methods:

1. AxelChat Widgets (recommended)
2. Window Capture for Windows 10 (1903 and up)
3. Window Capture and Luma Key filter
4. Display Capture and Background opacity

Method I. AxelChat Widgets (recommended)

This is the most recommended option or at least will be as widgets improve.

So, here's what you need to do:

1. Open the Widgets section in Settings window
2. Copy the link of the widget you need. For example, here is a link for a widget that displays chat messages:

3. In OBS, add the Browser source

4. In the URL field, enter the copied link and click OK

These widgets will still be improved, including the ability to customize, but you can already use them. If you understand CSS, you can to customize the widget.

Method II. Window Capture for Windows 10 (1903 and up)

This method also has a place to be, but it has a drawback: At the moment animated emoticons are not supported in the AxelChat window (but not in widgets), so they will be static. However, sometimes this is not critical, since some streaming platforms do not have animated emoticons anyway, or you are one of those streamers for whom animated emoticons are not so important.

So, here's what you need to do:

1. Open the Common section in Settings window
2. Set Background opacity to 0 %

3. In OBS, add the Window Capture source and set the following settings:

Method III. Window Capture and Luma Key filter

This method also has the same drawback as the previous example, but it adds another one: If the avatar or any necessary part of the captured image has a color that matches the background of the AxelChat window, then this part may become invisible in OBS. However, this does not happen very often and the impact is usually minor.

So, here's what you need to do:

1. In OBS, add a Window Capture source as in the previous example:

2. Right-click on the source, select Filters from the menu that opens

3. In the Effect Filters section, add the Luma Key filter

4. Set the following settings and click Close

Method IV. Display Capture and Background opacity

This method is suitable for those who use the Display Capture source in OBS.

So, here's what you need to do:

1. After you have added the Display Capture source to OBS, position the AxelChat window as you like on the screen and open the Common settings section
2. Set Background opacity to 0. The rest of the settings are optional and can be set at your discretion.
   Note: In AxelChat 0.37.14 and several others versions the Window opacity setting has a bug. This setting sometimes does not apply

Attention! Please note that if you enable Ignore Mouse, you will not be able to open the menu by right-clicking on the window. To open the menu, right-click on the AxelChat icon in the system tray

This is what it looks like (messages are blurred in the image for privacy reasons):