Change default canvas stacking in auto layout

This is definitely a minor, but time consuming pain point that I hope Figma will fix. Easy to create a setting for the default.

I agree here as well, would save a lot of issues

+1 on this, super annoying

+1, very annoying also. While working in Figma it seems all good up until the point you’re previewing the prototype - open a dropdown component somewhere - and then remember that you need to go back and set canvas stacking to first on top. This would save so much time daily.

As someone who is just learning to use Figma, the fact that the default isnt first on top has been a significant hinderance to learning to use Figma, and caused a lot of frustration for me over the last week or so. At a minimum, we need some kind of way to change the setting for everything, or all of the parts of a whole.

I think the real issue is not so much whether it’s intuitive, because we can always learn and get used to it. What I think the REAL problem is, is that the ‘last on top’ logic is not consistently applied within Figma itself. When i remove or add autolayout from a frame, the logic flips. Without AL, it’s always ‘first on top’. This is highly annoying and confusing, especially if you’re fiddling with a component and adding/removing AL to the same frame when iterating.

Any Updates on this?

big up. make it work the obvious and natural way.

+1 for this 👍

+1, would be a game changer for me 😀

+1 for this! 💪 Hope this will be implemented soon… 🙏

I second this. Really need this so bad when creating large app

+1 for this!!! Very useful for designer, but not so useful for developer. Should also add z-index customization : )

+1000. I can’t for the life of me understand why reverse order is default.

Please update that … it bothers me a lot and when I use the option Fixed place for a component with semi-transparent bg I cannot use Furst on top, since the background get solid

Completely agree –– this is particularly problematic for interactions where there’s a hover box or dropbox.

Requesting that this be implemented as well. For designers working with advanced prototypes, “first on top” is essential for properly displaying and interacting with dropdown menus.

One year and still nothing…

+1, needed this badly. Super annoying keep going every time to change .

Who decided to put last on top ? What is the logic of it ?

If you INSIST on having last on top as a default, please let us change it for a project.

Yep if you are doing autolayout website page layouts it’s so annoying. I have to change to first on top everytime if I want the nav to be sticky.

Will be great to have an option for default canvas stacking order for Auto Layout for each Design File.

We provide a lot of tooltips in our products.
And use Auto Layout in a lot of places.

One of the most common questions I get from my team is:
“How do I get [this expanded thingy] to show on top of [that other item visually below it]?”

With default Canvas stacking order as “Last on top” - every single time we apply Auto Layout, we’d need to remember to double-check stacking or, or manually update for every single Auto Layout.

As a design creation tool, I believe there is no single absolute right or wrong logic.

What can be good is the flexibility for users to customize the options that work for them.

A default option applied to each design file will help tremendously.

Defaulting to last on top contradicts the entire directive of the left-hand layers panel ordering - layers are listed from top to bottom reflecting their ordering on your canvas - from top to bottom.

Last on top (bottom to top sorting) is unintuitive, though more importantly, becomes very time consuming to modify every.single.time you require auto layout.

Please Figma team, let’s default to use the same ordering philosophy as the left hand layers panel.

+1 (or +1000) for this. I echo that I have not come across a single instance where I would prefer to have the last on top. Especially with absolutely positioned items, it’s nice to see them at the “top” of the parent element, so you can see what’s out of flow.

I try to remember to set it every time I apply auto-layout as a first step, but it does get very repetitive.