Adobe Flash CS4 Professional for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide

Controlling Stacking Order

Complex Graphics on a Single Layer

153

Controlling Stacking Order

Within a single layer, text  elds, grouped

objects, drawing-objects, and primitives

stack as if they were sitting on sublay-

ers above any ungrouped merge-shapes.

Stacking order exists even if objects don’t

literally lie on top of one another. If you

have a group on one side of the Stage and a

drawing-object on the other, you can’t see

which one stacks higher than the other; but

if you drag the objects so they overlap, the

order becomes apparent. (Symbols, which

you’ll learn about in Chapter 7, are another

type of graphic-object that stacks on top of

ungrouped merge-shapes.)

Understanding Stacking Order

Merge-shapes on a single layer always stay on the same layer, segmenting one another

whenever they inhabit the same space on the Stage. All graphic-objects (drawing-objects,

primitives, text  elds, groups, and symbols) stack on top of one another. By default, Flash

stacks each new graphic-object that you create on top of the preceding one; the last graphic-

object created winds up on top of all the others (Figure 5.17). A higher-level graphic-object

obscures any graphic-object that lies directly beneath it.

Figure 5.17 This schematic shows Flash’s default stacking order for graphic-objects.

The most recently created graphic-object is on top. Merge-shapes are always on the bottom.

Primitive-shape created 7th

Drawing-object created 6th

Text fi eld created 5th

Group created 4th

Primitive-shape created 2nd

Merge-shape created 1st

Merge-shape created 3rd

Controlling Stacking Order

Chapter 5

154

Figure 5.18 Each dumbbell-like shape here is a

separate group (top). Choose Modify > Arrange >

Bring Forward (middle) to move a selected group up

one level in the stacking order (bottom).

You can change the stacking order of graphic-

objects via the Modify > Arrange menu. You can

move objects up or down in the stacking order

one level at a time, or you can send an object

to the top or bottom of the stack of sublayers.

To change position in a stack by

one level:

1.

On the Stage, create at least three graphic-

objects.

Use any combination of grouped shapes,

drawing-objects, primitives, or text  elds.

2.

Select one of the graphic-objects.

3.

From the Modify > Arrange menu, choose

either of the following:

▲

To move the selected item up one

level, choose Bring Forward, or press

#

–up arrow (Mac) or Ctrl–up arrow

(Windows).

▲

To move the selected item down one

level, choose Send Backward, or press

#

–down arrow (Mac) or Ctrl–down

arrow (Windows).

Flash moves the selected item up (or

down) one sublayer in the stacking order

(Figure 5.18).

To move an element to the top or

bottom of the stack:

1.

On the Stage, select one of the graphic-

objects you created in the previous task.

2.

From the Modify > Arrange menu, choose

either of the following:

▲

To bring the item to the top of the

stack, choose Bring to Front, or press

Option-Shift–up arrow (Mac) or Ctrl-

Shift–up arrow (Windows).

▲

To move the item to the bottom of the

stack, choose Send to Back, or press

Option-Shift–down arrow (Mac) or

Ctrl-Shift–down arrow (Windows).

Flash places the selected item at the top

(or bottom) of the heap.

Created 1st

Created 2nd

Created 3rd