Placing/Overlapping(z-index) a view above another view in android

Question

You can't use a LinearLayout for this, but you can use a FrameLayout. In a FrameLayout, the z-index is defined by the order in which the items are added, for example:

<FrameLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    >
    <ImageView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:src="@drawable/my_drawable"
        android:scaleType="fitCenter"
        />
    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="bottom|center"
        android:padding="5dp"
        android:text="My Label"
        />
</FrameLayout>

In this instance, the TextView would be drawn on top of the ImageView, along the bottom center of the image.

Give a try to .bringToFront():

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/View.html#bringToFront%28%29

RelativeLayout works the same way, the last image in the relative layout wins.

Changing the draw order

An alternative is to change the order in which the views are drawn by the parent. You can enable this feature from ViewGroup by calling setChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled(true) and overriding getChildDrawingOrder(int childCount, int i).

Example:

/**
 * Example Layout that changes draw order of a FrameLayout
 */
public class OrderLayout extends FrameLayout {

    private static final int[][] DRAW_ORDERS = new int[][]{
            {0, 1, 2},
            {2, 1, 0},
            {1, 2, 0}
    };

    private int currentOrder;

    public OrderLayout(Context context) {
        super(context);
        setChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled(true);
    }

    public void setDrawOrder(int order) {
        currentOrder = order;
        invalidate();
    }

    @Override
    protected int getChildDrawingOrder(int childCount, int i) {
        return DRAW_ORDERS[currentOrder][i];
    }
}

Output:

Calling OrderLayout#setDrawOrder(int) with 0-1-2 results in:

You can use view.setZ(float) starting from API level 21. Here you can find more info.

I solved the same problem by add android:elevation="1dp" to which view you want it over another. But it can't display below 5.0, and it will have a little shadow, if you can accept it, it's OK.

So, the most correct solution which is @kcoppock said.