Image place holders on Slide Masters

Hi there Paul,

A shape placed on top of a placeholder in the Slide Master will be moved behind the placeholder in Edit mode by default--otherwise, you wouldn't be able to click on the placeholder to insert an image. This actually works the same as the Slide Master feature in PowerPoint.

Try adding the transparent shape to a layer on the Slide Master. Then add the trigger, Show layer Layer 1 when timeline starts on [slide master]. Here's a Peek at how that works!

That's what I was figuring, it was an inherent placeholder - object / layering behavior.   I could add some triggers but I want to keep my titles as clean as possible without any extraneous triggers.

What I am going to do is remove that placeholder from the layout masters and leave my semi-transparent shape / layers on the layout masters as is.  Then at the slide level, I'll format the slide background and add the background image that way.  It will keep it's transparency and layering the way I want it.  It will be a little different than just using a layout master but the effect will be the same, and without any extra triggers. 

Thanks for the clarification on the placeholder behavior. It confirmed my suspicions. 

Creative workaround, Paul. Thanks for sharing your idea!