Overview
EVE MultiPreview is a Windows desktop tool for EVE Online multiboxers that displays live thumbnails of all running EVE clients, enabling monitoring and rapid switching between characters via click or hotkey. It is built in C# / WPF using the Windows DWM Thumbnail API and is a ground-up rewrite inspired by earlier community projects.
What it does
- Displays live thumbnails of every running EVE client
- Switches to a client when you left-click its thumbnail; minimizes a client with Ctrl + click
- Provides hotkeys to switch clients without mouse input (keyboard and mouse buttons supported)
- Supports multiple profiles with quick swapping between setups
- Offers profile cycling hotkeys to cycle forward/backward through profiles
- Allows thumbnail grouping — organizing characters into named groups with custom border colors
- Flashes thumbnails red as attack alerts when a character takes incoming fire
- Provides an alert events panel with per-event toggles for attack, warp scramble, decloak, fleet invite, convo request, and system change
- Implements a severity tier system (Critical / Warning / Info) with custom colors, cooldowns, and tray notifications
- Includes PVE Mode that filters NPC/rat damage so alerts fire only on player attacks
- Shows a "not logged in" indicator (text overlay, border color, dim, or none) for clients at character select
- Supports character select cycling via hotkey to cycle focus through clients at the character select screen
- Allows per-event alert sounds with custom WAV/MP3 files and master volume control
- Displays a session timer showing how long each character has been logged in
- Overlays the current solar system name on each thumbnail
- Provides a stats overlay with real-time DPS, Logi, Mining, and Ratting stat tracking per character in standalone overlay windows
- Offers click-through mode to make thumbnails transparent to mouse clicks via hotkey
- Toggles hide/show all thumbnails via hotkey or tray menu
- Supports secondary thumbnails (PiP) — a second independent live preview for any character with separate size, position, and opacity
- Enables click-to-capture hotkey assignment by clicking a hotkey field and pressing a key combo
- Auto-saves thumbnail positions after dragging
- Saves and restores EVE client window positions
- Integrates an FPS limiter via RTSS profile for capping background client FPS
- Supports multi-monitor setups — choose which monitor thumbnails appear on
- Includes a first-run setup wizard for new users
- Provides context-sensitive help in settings that updates based on the active tab
- Displays live clocks (local time and EVE time / UTC) in the settings header
- Enforces single-instance operation to prevent running multiple copies
- Allows customization of colors, borders, text, fonts, sizes, opacity, and positions
The tool explicitly does not perform input broadcasting, does not send individual inputs to background clients, and does not read game memory or manipulate the client. It manages windows solely through the standard Windows DWM Thumbnail API.
Platform
Windows desktop application. Built with C# / WPF targeting .NET 8.
Hosting / source
- Repository: https://github.com/CJKondur/EVE-MultiPreview
- License: MIT
Notes
- The project is a full rewrite inspired by EVE-O Preview (by Phrynohyas, MIT licensed) and EVE-X-Preview (by g0nzo83, MIT licensed).
- Building from source requires the .NET 8 SDK (or later). The recommended publish command produces a self-contained single-file executable with no runtime dependencies; a framework-dependent build is also available (requires .NET 8 Desktop Runtime on the target machine).
- On first run, Windows SmartScreen may display a "Windows protected your PC" warning because the executable is not code-signed. The workaround is to click "More info" → "Run anyway".
- If migrating from the AHK version or EVE-X-Preview, placing the executable in the same folder as the old config triggers an automatic settings migration prompt.
- Thumbnail movement: right-click drag moves one thumbnail; Ctrl + right-click drag moves all thumbnails. Resizing: holding both mouse buttons and drag resizes all thumbnails; Ctrl + both mouse buttons and drag resizes one thumbnail.