How to Get Started Using Steam Overlay
Steam Overlay enhances your gaming experience with streamlined communication, in-game purchases, web access, and more. Let's take a look at how the overlay works, how to turn it on, and talk about some of the features that can improve your gaming experience.
An Overview of Steam Overlay
Integrated into Valve's Steam client, Steam Overlay allows users to access various Steam features without having to exit the game they're playing. You can see messages from your friends, invite them to play a game, browse the web, check out community content, change Steam settings, and do much more.
With the feature enabled, you can summon the overlay on top of your game screen by pressing a designated hotkey. The default hotkey for activating Steam Overlay is Shift+Tab, but you can customize this in the Steam settings if you wish.
What Can You Do With Steam Overlay?
Steam Overlay lets you access many of Steam's standout features in a flash.
Game Overview
Denoted by the "i" information symbol, the Game Overview offers some at-a-glance information like playtime for the current session, the total playtime for the last two weeks, recent announcements or updates, direct links to the game's community hub, discussions, guides, and additional related content.
Achievements
Use the medal icon to view and track your achievements in the game. You can check the list of achievements you've already unlocked, monitor those in progress, compare your achievements with your friends, check details about rewards for those achievements, and more.
Notes
Indicated by a pencil icon, jot down notes during gameplay to keep track of thoughts, strategies, and more. You can create as many notes as you'd like and format them using a range of rich text options. The notes are stored separately for each game and synced across other PCs where you are logged into Steam.
Timer
The timer feature in Steam Overlay, represented by a clock symbol, can help you manage your gaming session by setting predefined time
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