← Documentation

Layers and stacking order

Updated on August 5, 2026

On the Imagine canvas every element has a position in the stack: newer objects sit on top of older ones. You can reorder them at any time.

Changing the stacking order

Select an element and right-click to open the context menu. From there you have four options:

  • Bring to front — moves it above everything else.
  • Bring forward — moves it one level up in the stack.
  • Send backward — moves it one level down in the stack.
  • Send to back — places it below everything else.

You can also use the ] key (bring forward) and [ key (send backward) with the element selected, without opening the menu.

Selecting multiple objects

To work with more than one element at a time:

  • Hold Shift or Ctrl while clicking to add or remove elements from the selection.
  • Drag a selection rectangle over the area you want to cover.
  • Use Ctrl+A to select all elements on the canvas.

When you have several objects selected, you can move them all together by dragging any one of them. Stroke color and width changes also apply to all of them at once from the Properties panel.

Copying, cutting, and pasting

With one or more elements selected, right-click and choose Copy, Cut, or Paste. You can also use the standard OS shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V). Pasted elements appear slightly offset from the original.

Deleting elements

Select one or more elements and press Delete or Backspace. You can also use the context menu and choose Delete. If you delete by mistake, Ctrl+Z undoes it.

To remove only part of a stroke, use the Eraser tool with Delete pixels enabled instead of deleting the whole element.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a visual layers panel listing all stacked objects? No, Imagine does not have a layers panel with an object list. Order is managed directly on the canvas with the context menu or the [ and ] keys.

Can I group objects to always move them together? There is no user-facing group/ungroup feature. To move several objects together, select them all and drag them at the same time.

Does stacking order affect the presentation? Yes. During a presentation, elements appear according to the order in which they were created or reordered. Use Bring to front to make sure something stays visible on top of the rest.

Next step