To bring a layer to the front in QGIS, you need to adjust its position within the 'Layers' panel.
The most common and direct way to bring a layer to the front in QGIS is by moving the layer higher up in the Layers list located on the left side of the main QGIS window.
Controlling Layer Drawing Order
QGIS draws layers from bottom to top in the Layers panel. This means layers listed higher up will be drawn on top of layers listed lower down. To change the drawing order:
- Locate the 'Layers' panel: This panel typically appears on the left side of the QGIS interface and lists all the layers currently loaded in your project.
- Click and drag the layer: Find the layer you want to bring to the front. Click and hold your mouse button on the layer's name.
- Move the layer up: While still holding the mouse button, drag the layer upwards in the list. You will see a horizontal line indicating where the layer will be placed when you release the button.
- Release the button: Release the mouse button when the layer is positioned where you want it to be drawn on top of other layers.
Ensure Rendering Order Control is Active
As noted in QGIS documentation, depending on your QGIS version, there's a critical setting for this to work correctly:
- Beneath your Layers list, look for a checkbox labeled "Control rendering order".
- This checkbox must be checked (switched on).
- When "Control rendering order" is active, moving the layers up and down in the Layers list directly corresponds to bringing them to the front or sending them to the back in the map view. If this is unchecked, QGIS might use a different internal ordering (like by layer type), and simply dragging might not work as expected.
By dragging your desired layer towards the top of the Layers panel and ensuring "Control rendering order" is checked, you effectively bring that layer to the front of your map view.
