Stacking order

Each time you create a new object, whether a path, or text, or bitmap, or anything else, that object sits on top of a "stack" of objects. With any two objects, one is always higher on the stack. The top of the stack is the front-most object. Each layer has its own stack, so a path at the top of one layer is still behind the bottom-most object on a higher layer.

Selecting the red rectangle (A) and choosing Bring Forward moves the object up (B). Choosing Bring To Front moves the object to the top of the object stack on that layer (C).

You can use menu commands, keyboard shortcuts, or the Layers panel to bring an object forward or send it backward within its layer. If you want to move an object to a different layer, see Moving objects among layers.

Menu commands

Expression Design offers four menu commands for changing an object's stacking order:

Note that when you click Bring Forward or Send Backwards, the program changes the stacking order only of objects that overlap. That is, it ignores objects that appear elsewhere on the page.

You can also choose these commands by right-clicking on a selected object, and then choosing commands from the Arrange submenu.

Layers panel

To move objects forward or backward with the Layers panel, click the Expand Layer triangle to the left of the layer's name, and then drag the object up or down in the list. For more information about the Layers panel and how to locate an object within it, see The Layers panel.