# Changing object display order

Captivate allows you to add multiple objects, such as captions, highlight boxes, animations, or images to slides. You specify the order in which objects appear. There are two ways to change object order: changing the object z-order or using the Timeline.

### Changing object order using z-order

Changing the object z-order is a fast and easy way to change object order. This method may be a good option if you are working with a simple slide that contains only a few objects and no other elements. Changing the z-order consists of moving objects to the back and front of the slide "stage." The key point to remember is that objects at the back of the stage appear first, while objects at the front of the stage appear later. (Example)

You can think of the objects being stacked in 3-D fashion (even though they can be anywhere on the slide and do not need to appear over each other). For example, in the image below, the yellow caption would appear first, the green second, and the blue last.

#### To change object order using z-order:

1. Open a Captivate movie.

2. Navigate to the slide containing the objects whose order you want to change.

3. Right-click on an object and select one of the following four object order options:

   Bring to Front: This option brings the selected object to the foreground. When the movie plays, the object is the last to appear.

   Send to Back: This option sends the selected object to the background. When the movie plays, the object is the first to appear.

   Bring Forward: This option moves the object one layer forward. When the movie plays, the object appears one level later.

   Send Backward: This option moves the object one layer back. When the movie plays, the object appears one level earlier.

4. If necessary, right-click on other objects on the slide and adjust their order.

### Changing object order using the Timeline

You can also change object order using the Timeline. The Timeline enables you to precisely adjust the timing of all objects on a slide. This method is recommended when you have a complicated slide comprised of many objects or when you must time the appearance of objects exactly.

#### To change object order using the Timeline:

1. Open a Captivate movie

2. Navigate to the slide containing the objects whose order you want to change.

3. If it is not open already, show the Timeline by clicking on the splitter bar . To expand the Timeline, click on the display arrow.

   Click on the black arrow.

4. Change the order and timing of objects as required.

For example, move the mouse over the left or right edge of an object on the Timeline until the resize cursor appears, then click and drag the edge left or right. This will change the moment when the object appears and the length of time the object appears.

Or, if you have a object that currently displays at the same time the slide displays, but you want a slight delay, move the mouse over the center of the object on the Timeline until the hand cursor appears, then click and drag the entire object so the left edge aligns with 2s (a 2-second delay) or 4s (a 4-second delay) in the header. (Example)

The red arrow points to the left edge of the caption object bar aligned with the 2-second mark on the Timeline.