Section 71. Changing the Stacking Order


#71. Changing the Stacking Order

Every object on a page occupies a specific place in the page's stacking order. The first object you create on a page is placed at the bottom of the stack of objects. Each new object is placed successively higher in the stack.

Moving an Object to a Different Layer

You can use the Layers palette to move an object to a different layer. Select the object, and then open the Layers palette. Drag the small, colored square that's displayed to the right of the name of the highlighted layer to another layer. The object is placed at the top of the stacking order on its new layer. Then use the Arrange options to change the object's placement within the layer's stacking order.


If objects don't overlap, their stacking order is not important; however, if objects overlap, the stacking order determines which object is visible in the overlapping areas. You may find that you need to move objects forward or backward in the stacking order to create the desired result (Figure 71).

Figure 71. Four objects are stacked upon each other (left). The text frame is at the top of the stack; the empty circular frame is at the bottom. Selecting the circular frame and choosing Object > Arrange > Bring to Front produced the result on the right.


The Arrange command (Object menu) displays four options for changing the position of the selected object in the stacking order:

  • Bring to Front: Moves an object to the top of the stack.

  • Bring Forward: Moves an object one level higher in the stack.

  • Send Backward: Moves an object one level lower in the stack.

  • Send to Back: Moves an object to the bottom of the stack.

Layers have their own stacking order the same as objects. (For more about layers, see #82.) When you choose any of the four Arrange commands (Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send to Back, and Send Backward), the selected object moves forward or backward only within its own layer. This means, for example, that if you choose Object > Arrange > Bring to Front, the selected object may not be the frontmost object if it's on a layer that's below another layer. To place an object in front of all other objects, move it to the front of the frontmost layer.

Selecting an Object That's Behind Another Object

If you need to select an object that's behind another object, one option is to select the frontmost object, and then move it backward so that you can see and then select the object that was behind it. If you hold down the Command key (Mac OS) or the Control key (Windows) and click an area where multiple objects overlap, each click selects the next lowest object in the stacking order. Once you reach the bottom object, the next Command/Control-click selects the topmost object.


If you place objects on a master page, they're placed at the bottom of the stacking order behind objects that you place on the same layer on a document page. If you want to place master objects in front of objects on document pages, create a layer for the master objects and place that layer on top of the layer you use for objects on document pages.



Adobe InDesign CS2 How-Tos(c) 100 Essential Techniques
Adobe InDesign CS2 How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques
ISBN: 0321321901
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 142

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