Move Layer Up and Down Shortcut in After Effects

Managing your layer hierarchy is essential for controlling rendering order and keeping compositions organized in Adobe After Effects. This guide provides the exact default keyboard shortcuts to move layers up and down the timeline stack on both Windows and macOS, including commands for nudging layers one level at a time or sending them directly to the top or bottom.

Move Layer Up One Level (Bring Forward)

Moving a layer up places it higher in the stacking order, causing it to render in front of layers beneath it.

Windows: Ctrl + ]
Mac: Cmd + ]

Move Layer Down One Level (Send Backward)

Moving a layer down drops it lower in the stacking order, placing it behind layers above it.

Windows: Ctrl + [
Mac: Cmd + [

Move Layer to the Top of the Stack (Bring to Front)

To jump a selected layer directly to the very top of your timeline:

Windows: Ctrl + Shift + ]
Mac: Cmd + Shift + ]

Move Layer to the Bottom of the Stack (Send to Back)

To jump a selected layer directly to the very bottom of your timeline:

Windows: Ctrl + Shift + [
Mac: Cmd + Shift + [

Working with Multiple Layers

These shortcuts also apply when multiple layers are selected simultaneously:

Select multiple layers by holding Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) while clicking individual layers, or hold Shift to select a continuous range.
Use any of the bracket shortcuts above to shift the entire selected group up or down together while preserving their relative spacing.