Learn Z-Index Using a Visualization Tool

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Chris Coyier on

There are some neat interactive demos in here from Thiru Manikandan. There are a couple of very tricky things with z-index that never fail to confuse. In addition to things like requiring positioning and source order, the trickiest are the stacking contexts and parent/child relationships. z-index isn’t a flat playing field. Even if you put z-index: 2147483644ยน on an element, it’s possible nothing will happen because that element might be inside a parent element with its own stacking context and a lower z-index than a sibling or some higher-up level DOM element.

  1. Just three shy of the maximum 2147483647. LOLZ. Hat tip to Dan Danney who mentioned seeing that in the wild recently.

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