A plurality of graphical elements may be represented as a document object model (DOM) having a plurality of nodes, each node representing a different graphical element, the DOM having an ordering of the nodes, each node having a z-value of front or back, indicating that the corresponding graphical element is to be displayed in a front layer for a z-value of front or a back layer for a z-value of back. The z-value of one or more of the plurality of nodes corresponding to one or more graphical elements to be moved to the front layer or back layer may be altered. The DOM can then be reordered so that the one or more graphical elements to be moved to the front layer or back layer are at the front or back of the DOM, while maintaining the ordering between nodes having z-values of front and the ordering between nodes having z-values of back.