Depth effect

Wallpaper depth, around your clock.

Depth Effect can hide parts of the clock behind the foreground of your wallpaper. The result feels more like a scene than a widget placed on top.

DepthTick glass clock partially hidden behind a mountain ridge on a Windows desktop

Choose the right mode

Different wallpapers. Different depth.

Layered Mode is the default and recommended starting point for most wallpapers. Try Object Mode when a distinct foreground subject should cover the clock more completely. 2D Art is a separate toggle, not a third depth-mode selection.

Layered Mode

The default for most wallpapers. Preserves depth across the scene so you can adjust how far the clock sits behind foreground and middle-ground details.

Object Mode

An alternative for a distinct person, car, character or object that should appear in front of the clock. It is not always the best fit for a whole landscape.

2D Art toggle

Try this separate option when complex illustrated subjects produce incorrect or hollow cutouts, especially in Object Mode. Turn it off again if the result is worse.

Fine-tuning depth

Decide how far back the clock sits.

Open Settings → Depth to adjust Widget depth. In Layered Mode, lower values bring the clock forward and higher values place more of the scene in front. In Object Mode, the slider fine-tunes the foreground edge. Lens Depth is a different control for the Prism glass.

Too much of the time disappearing? Lower Widget depth to bring the clock forward, or lower Hidden area limit so the visibility safeguard intervenes sooner. You can also move the clock away from the foreground.

DepthTick attempts a one-time depth adjustment for a newly generated mask. It may leave the current value unchanged if there is too little useful foreground behind the clock. You can refine the result manually; moving the clock or restarting the app does not continuously overwrite your adjustment.

Depth troubleshooting

What Hidden area limit means

This is the maximum percentage of the clock that may be covered before depth is temporarily bypassed. It is a visibility safeguard, not another depth slider.

At 90%, the clock may be mostly covered. At 30%, the effect is bypassed once more than 30% would be hidden. A lower value keeps more of the clock readable. At 0, no depth cutout is applied, even if the Depth Effect toggle is on.

If depth seems to disappear suddenly, check this limit before regenerating the mask.

Compare depth modes

Choose the overlap, not a preset.

The modes change how wallpaper depth is interpreted. Neither mode replaces your wallpaper or limits the clock's visual customization.

Layered: scene depth
Begin here for landscapes and images with several depth layers. The Widget depth slider controls which parts of the scene cover the clock.
Object: foreground subject
Try this when one distinct subject should cover the clock. Check the outline and use Widget depth to fine-tune the edge.

Wallpapers that work well

Portraits, characters, cars, buildings and clear objects, plus landscapes with well-defined layers and visible separation.

Wallpapers that are harder

Flat patterns, dark or low-contrast scenes, abstract art without a clear subject, and smooth gradients can be harder to interpret. Solid colors, smooth gradients and images with insufficient depth evidence may be skipped; the clock still works.

Keep it looking right

When should you refresh?

With Auto-generate on wallpaper change enabled, DepthTick starts preparing depth after wallpaper changes settle. Unsupported images may be skipped, and rapid slideshows pause depth processing. Cached masks are reused when they still match the wallpaper, monitor and depth settings. Use Refresh Depth Effect when the overlap looks incorrect or when automatic generation is off, rather than refreshing after every move.

About on-device depth processing

The next look is yours

Put your clock inside the picture.

Find a wallpaper you love. Make time part of it.

View on Microsoft Store See the setup guide