Layers, stacking order and positioning
Every text box, image and shape is a layer. The stacking order decides what appears in front — and the Layers panel is the easiest way to grab an object that's hiding behind another.
Open the Layers panel
- Choose Layers in the top-right header, between Paste and Save template.
- The panel opens on the right. Its heading shows the layer count.
- Select a row to work on that object — the row highlights and its editing controls appear above the canvas. Choose Layers again to close the panel.
Layer-row controls
| Control | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Dotted drag grip | Drag the row up or down to change the stacking order. Use this when a background shape or image is covering your text. |
| Object icon and label | A T marks a text object and its words help you find the right box. Select the row instead of trying to click through overlapping items. |
| Eye — Hide / Show | Hides the layer without deleting it. The action switches to Show; choose it again to bring the object back. |
| Padlock — Lock | Protects a layer from accidental changes on the canvas. Unlock it when you need to move it again. Locking is different from hiding. |
| Bin — Delete | Removes that layer. Use Undo straight away if you remove the wrong one. |
| Highlighted row | Your current selection. Check this before changing colour, animation, transparency or position. |
Hidden is not deleted. To bring a hidden object back, open Layers and use its Show control. If a visible object still won't move, check its padlock. If Edit as video is on, also check the playhead is inside the object's time range.
The selected-object toolbar
With a layer selected, the right-hand end of the editing bar gives you these controls. They act on the selected object only.
| Toolbar control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Position | Stacking and alignment. Forward / Backward moves one step; To Front / To back jumps to the top or bottom of the stack. |
| Transparency | Makes the object more or less see-through. Use the layer's eye if you want to hide it completely. |
| Padlock | Locks the selected object — the same as the padlock in the Layers panel. |
| Overlapping squares — Duplicate | Makes a copy of the selection. Move the copy, then change its text or styling. |
| Bin — Remove | Deletes the selected object. Undo restores it. |
| Paint roller — Copy style | Reuses appearance settings from one object on another. This is separate from duplicating the object. |
The header's Copy and Paste buttons use the designer clipboard for whole objects and are separate from Copy style.
Example: bring text to the front and centre it
- Open Layers and select the text row you want in front.
- Choose Position → To Front (or Forward if you only need to move one level).
- Use Align center for horizontal centring and Align middle for vertical centring. Left, right, top and bottom are there too.
- Lock the object if you want to protect it while editing other layers.
Text align is different: it aligns the words inside their text box, while Position aligns the whole object. Stacking controls change what overlaps what — they don't change when an object appears. For that, use the timeline.