diff --git a/options.c b/options.c
index f7aac23..d292768 100644
--- a/options.c
+++ b/options.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ const options_t *options = (const options_t*) &_options;
 void print_usage(void)
 {
 	printf("usage: sxiv [-abcfhioqrtvZ] [-G GAMMA] [-g GEOMETRY] [-n NUM] "
-	       "[-N NAME] [-S DELAY] [-s MODE] [-z ZOOM] FILES...\n");
+	       "[-N NAME] [-S DELAY] [-s MODE] [-z ZOOM] [-w WID] FILES...\n");
 }
 
 void print_version(void)
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ void parse_options(int argc, char **argv)
 	_options.slideshow = 0;
 
 	_options.fullscreen = false;
+	_options.embed = 0;
 	_options.hide_bar = false;
 	_options.geometry = NULL;
 	_options.res_name = NULL;
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ void parse_options(int argc, char **argv)
 	_options.thumb_mode = false;
 	_options.clean_cache = false;
 
-	while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "abcfG:g:hin:N:oqrS:s:tvZz:")) != -1) {
+	while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "abcfG:g:hin:N:oqrS:s:tvw:Zz:")) != -1) {
 		switch (opt) {
 			case '?':
 				print_usage();
@@ -138,6 +139,12 @@ void parse_options(int argc, char **argv)
 			case 'v':
 				print_version();
 				exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+			case 'w':
+				n = strtol(optarg, &end, 0);
+				if (*end != '\0')
+					error(EXIT_FAILURE, 0, "Invalid argument for option -w: %s", optarg);
+				_options.embed = n;
+				break;
 			case 'Z':
 				_options.scalemode = SCALE_ZOOM;
 				_options.zoom = 1.0;
diff --git a/options.h b/options.h
index 25abf16..40c2506 100644
--- a/options.h
+++ b/options.h
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ typedef struct {
 	/* window: */
 	bool fullscreen;
 	bool hide_bar;
+	long embed;
 	char *geometry;
 	char *res_name;
 
diff --git a/window.c b/window.c
index ad08787..18f45b0 100644
--- a/window.c
+++ b/window.c
@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ void win_init(win_t *win)
 	win->bar.l.buf = emalloc(win->bar.l.size);
 	win->bar.r.buf = emalloc(win->bar.r.size);
 	win->bar.h = options->hide_bar ? 0 : barheight;
+	win->embed = options->embed;
 
 	INIT_ATOM_(WM_DELETE_WINDOW);
 	INIT_ATOM_(_NET_WM_NAME);
@@ -197,7 +198,10 @@ void win_open(win_t *win)
 		win->y = 0;
 	}
 
-	win->xwin = XCreateWindow(e->dpy, RootWindow(e->dpy, e->scr),
+	if (!(win->embed)) {
+		win->embed = RootWindow(e->dpy, e->scr);
+	}
+	win->xwin = XCreateWindow(e->dpy, win->embed,
 	                          win->x, win->y, win->w, win->h, 0,
 	                          e->depth, InputOutput, e->vis, 0, NULL);
 	if (win->xwin == None)
diff --git a/window.h b/window.h
index f5f9df0..9aa5689 100644
--- a/window.h
+++ b/window.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ typedef struct {
 	unsigned int bw;
 
 	bool fullscreen;
+	long embed;
 
 	struct {
 		int w;