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GrandPM
New Member
June 8, 2023

Change default canvas stacking in auto layout

  • June 8, 2023
  • 70 replies
  • 7012 views

I am using auto layout a lot in my projects and think it is awesome. However, there is one small issue that annoys me a lot. The default setting for canvas stacking is always “Last on top”, which is usually not what I want. For instance when switching state of a dropdown in a layout, the dropdown list will appear below the content that is underneath it (at least in my case where the list is using absolute position). With lots of nested auto layouts, things quickly become a mess if you forgot to change this when you created the auto layout. I would suggest either of these solutions:

  • Change default to “First on top”.
  • Make the default setting optional
  • Remember the last used setting (like the animation properties work)

70 replies

LaoluRG
New Member
May 27, 2025

Hi ​@figma_admin 💁🏾

Dan_Macmahon
New Member
July 23, 2025

Please. It’s just confusing and such a hidden setting. 

Nesign
New Member
July 23, 2025

totally agree with this

JD15
New Member
July 24, 2025

Absolutely. I assume it’s the Figma team trying to reestablish a new way of thinking of layers.

Years of using layer-based design software has taught us that the higher the layer in the list, the higher it’s position in stacking index. Not sure why they’d fight it!

Abhishek Vahalkar
New Member
August 3, 2025

Please @Figma this is very much needed, I am glad someone pointed it out… It is very unintuitive, please fix it ASAP.

kkohl
New Member
August 14, 2025

Is there an update on this? Maybe a global setting or something?

While I do use "last on top", "first on top" is way more common. It’s pretty annoying having to change it manually every single time.

 

Also, it leads to mistakes in designs because honestly, when you're in a rush, it's easy to forget to switch the setting…

Isaac_Gabriel1
New Member
November 14, 2025

Yes! Please! Such a  unnecessary nitpicky thing to change just for the sake of being cool…

In the meantime, you can set all your objects to ‘first on top’ at the same time, saves a ton of time. Also elements set to ’first on top’ will carry that setting to all copies, saving even more time.

Time that wouldn't need to be saved in the first place, let's be honest.

X5-产品-Harrid
New Member
December 4, 2025

I was also very confused, then I searched and discovered all of you who have the same need.

stanley14
New Member
December 30, 2025

10 months time, Figma team is still ignoring us~
Please treat it as a global preference, it makes so much sense to let user make decision. 

Josh_Newday
New Member
January 6, 2026

Additional frustration: 

Outside of Autolayouts, using the ] shortcut you can move things up in the layer order, putting them on top/in front  of the items below it in layer order.

But within in autolayouts, whilst using the ] shortcut still moves them up in the layer order, adding Ctrl-] shortcut to put them straight to the front jumps them all the way to the bottom of the stack. It seems counter intuitive, hugely inconsistent and needlessly confusing.