Reorder, group, and lock layers.
A scene’s objects stack up as layers in the Objects list at the bottom left. The higher the row, the further forward its object shows. Here you reorder them, combine them into a group, hide them, and lock them.
Follow along in a scene with two or three objects. When they overlap, their front-to-back order is easy to see.
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Select a layer
Click a row in the Objects list to select that object. The higher the row, the further forward the object shows on the canvas. Hold ⇧ and click to select every row in between. Hold ⌘ and click to add rows one at a time.
Clicking a rectangle’s row selects that rectangle on the canvas. Video: Clicking the Rectangle 2 row in the Objects list at the bottom left selects that rectangle on the canvas, showing that the top row is the object in front. -
Change the stacking order
Drag a row up or down. A blue line shows where it will land, and an object you move up is drawn in front. On the keyboard, the closing bracket key ] brings an object to the front, and the opening bracket key [ sends it to the back. Add ⌘ to move it one step at a time.
Dragging the title’s row above the photo’s row brings the title in front of the photo. Video: Dragging the Title row above the Photo row in the Objects list shows a blue line, and on release the title, which was hidden behind the photo, shows in front of it. -
Rename a layer
Double-click the name in a row, type a new name, and press ↩. A name that says what the object does, like “Card” instead of “Rectangle 1”, is easier to find. Names also decide which objects pair up in a transition.
Double-clicking “Rectangle 1”, typing “Card”, and pressing ↩ renames the row. Video: Double-clicking Rectangle 1 in the Objects list, typing Card, and pressing Enter changes the row’s name to Card. -
Group objects
Select the objects you want to group and press ⌘G. Group in the right-click menu does the same. A “Group 1” row appears in the list, and the grouped rows move under it. Use the arrow at the left of the row to collapse and expand it. To ungroup, press ⌘⇧G. You also use a group to make a mask. See Masks.
Selecting the rectangle and the text and pressing ⌘G groups them under “Group 1”. Video: Selecting a rectangle and a text object together and pressing ⌘G adds a Group 1 row to the Objects list, and the two rows move in under it, indented. -
Edit something inside a group
Clicking something in a group on the canvas selects the whole group. To edit just one object, double-click the group and then click that object. You can also hold ⌘ and click it, or click its row in the list. To leave the group, click an empty spot outside it. If you click another object outside the group, the first click only leaves the group, so click again to select it.
Double-clicking the group and then clicking the text selects only the text. Video: Clicking the text in the group selects the whole group. After a double-click, clicking the text again selects only the text, and clicking an empty spot leaves the group. -
Hide and lock layers
Hover over a row, and eye and padlock buttons appear on its right. Click the eye to hide the object on the canvas and in playback. The row dims. Click the padlock to lock the object so it can’t be selected on the canvas or in the list. It can’t be moved or deleted either. Until you hover over it, a locked row looks just like any other row. To unlock, click the padlock again. To show the object again, click the eye again.
Clicking the padlock on the background row keeps the background from moving when dragged, and clicking the eye on the circle’s row hides the circle. Video: Hovering over the Background row and clicking its padlock keeps the background from moving when dragged. Clicking the eye on the Ellipse 1 row hides the circle and dims the row. With the pointer away, the locked row looks like any other.
Transitions connect objects whose names and groups both match
Even when an object has the same name in two scenes, it doesn’t pair up if only one of them is inside a group or if their group names differ. Group numbers continue across the whole project, so if you group objects separately in each scene, the group names differ, like “Group 1” and “Group 2”. Objects without a pair don’t move from one scene to the next: one disappears and the other newly appears. If you group and name objects first and then duplicate the scene, the two scenes match. For scenes that are already separate, make the object names and group names the same in both scenes.
Frames, groups, and finding layers
To put an object inside a frame. On the canvas, drag the object until the pointer is inside the frame. Release when the frame’s border lights up blue, and the object goes inside. To take it out, drag it until the pointer is outside the frame and release. Frames are covered in Shapes and frames.
To change a group’s color. Groups have no fill or stroke. Select the objects inside the group and change them. You can still give a group opacity and effects.
To find a layer when you have many. Type a name in the search field at the top of the Objects list. Only the rows whose names match, and the groups that contain them, remain.
Shortcuts on this page
| Group objects | ⌘G |
|---|---|
| Ungroup | ⌘⇧G |
| Bring to front | ] |
| Send to back | [ |
| Hide the selection | ⌘⇧H |
| Lock the selection | ⌘⇧L |
Updated 10/12/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.