10 Hidden Figma Features Every Designer Should Know.

Figma is renowned for its user-friendly interface and powerful collaborative features, but beneath the surface lies a treasure trove of lesser-known tools that can transform your design workflow. Whether you're a seasoned designer or just starting, these hidden features will help you get more out of Figma.

Auto Layout Magic

Auto Layout is Figma’s answer to responsive design. While many designers use it to create simple, scalable components like buttons or cards, it’s capable of much more. By diving into the advanced settings, you can create sophisticated, dynamic layouts that adjust automatically as content changes.

• Nested Auto Layouts You can nest auto layouts within each other to create complex grids and adaptive UI elements. For instance, a card component might have an auto layout for the title and body text, nested within another auto layout that adjusts the entire card’s padding and spacing based on its content.
• Responsive Design Combine auto layouts with constraints to build components that resize and adapt to different screen sizes. This approach is especially useful for creating designs that need to work across various devices.

Swap Instance Shortcut

When working with design systems or multiple variations of components, the ability to quickly swap instances can save a lot of time.

• Keyboard Shortcut Instead of manually searching for different instances in the properties panel, you can use the shortcut (⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + S) to bring up a menu of available instances. This is especially handy when experimenting with different button states, icons, or other elements.
• Instance Swapping in Bulk You can also swap multiple instances at once. Select all the components you want to change, use the shortcut, and Figma will swap them simultaneously, ensuring consistency across your design.

Vector Networks

Traditional vector tools restrict you to paths with fixed start and end points, but Figma’s Vector Networks break these limitations, offering more flexibility.

• No Directional Constraints In a Vector Network, any point can connect to any other point, allowing you to create complex shapes and paths without worrying about the direction of your lines. This is particularly useful for creating intricate icons, custom illustrations, or detailed UI elements.
• Easier Editing You can add or remove points without disrupting the overall structure of your design. This makes it easier to refine your shapes and adjust them as needed, which is crucial when working on detailed vector artwork.

Component Properties

Component properties in Figma allow for greater customization and flexibility within your design system.

• Toggling Visibility You can create components with optional elements (like icons or text fields) and use component properties to toggle these elements on or off. This reduces the need for multiple component variants and streamlines your design process.
• Swappable Instances If your component includes nested instances (like an icon inside a button), you can set up properties to swap these instances without detaching the component. This is particularly useful for maintaining consistency while allowing customization.
• Text Overrides Directly override text in components without detaching them. For example, you could have a button component where the text can be changed on the fly, fitting different contexts without creating new components.

Color Styles & Gradients

Color styles are essential for maintaining consistency across a design system, but Figma also supports gradients as part of its color styles, a feature many designers overlook.

• Applying Gradients as Styles You can create and save gradient styles just like solid colors. This is incredibly useful for branding elements or UI components that require consistent gradient applications.
• Mixing Gradients with Solid Colors: Figma allows you to combine gradient styles with solid colors or even other gradients. This capability offers a broader range of creative possibilities for backgrounds, buttons, or any other UI elements where you want to add visual depth.

Text Auto Height

Managing text in design can be tricky, especially when dealing with varying lengths. Figma’s text auto height feature helps streamline this aspect.

• Automatic Resizing As you type, Figma automatically adjusts the height of the text box to fit the content. This prevents overflow and ensures that your text is always neatly contained within its designated area, reducing the need for manual adjustments.
• Consistent Spacing When combined with Auto Layout, text auto height ensures that spacing remains consistent across different text blocks, which is especially useful in responsive design scenarios where text length can vary.

Smart Selection

Organizing elements in Figma can be time-consuming, but the Smart Selection feature simplifies this process.

• Even Distribution When you select multiple objects and hold down ⌘/Ctrl + Alt while dragging, Figma automatically spaces them evenly. This is perfect for arranging items in a grid or list without manually adjusting each element.
• Alignment on the Fly Smart Selection also allows for quick alignment of elements. If you need to align a series of icons or buttons, you can do so effortlessly, ensuring your design is both precise and aesthetically pleasing.

Outline Stroke

Outlining a stroke in Figma converts it into a shape, which opens up new possibilities for editing and customizing your designs.

• Complex Shapes After converting a stroke to a shape, you can manipulate it just like any other vector object. This is particularly useful for creating custom icons, detailed illustrations, or any design that requires more control over individual elements.
• Combining Shapes Once a stroke is outlined, it can be combined with other shapes using Figma’s Boolean operations (Union, Subtract, Intersect, and Exclude). This allows you to build complex vector illustrations or icons directly within Figma without needing to switch to another tool.

Component Overriding

One of the most powerful aspects of Figma’s component system is the ability to override specific properties of an instance while maintaining its link to the master component.

• Text and Image Overrides You can customize text and images in component instances without breaking their connection to the master. This is crucial for maintaining a consistent design system while allowing flexibility in different contexts.
• Layout and Style Overrides Figma also lets you override layout and style properties, such as padding, colors, and even specific layer properties within an instance. This means you can adapt components to fit various design needs without losing the benefits of a unified system.

FigJam Integration

FigJam is Figma’s brainstorming and whiteboarding tool, and integrating it into your Figma workflow can significantly enhance collaboration.

• Seamless Transition You can move from brainstorming in FigJam to designing in Figma without leaving the platform. This integration allows you to import FigJam boards into Figma, making it easy to turn ideas into actionable designs.
• Collaborative Feedback Use FigJam to gather feedback, conduct design critiques, or brainstorm ideas with your team. The ability to keep all this within the Figma ecosystem ensures that your design process remains streamlined and collaborative.
• Wireframing and User Flows FigJam’s tools for creating user flows and wireframes can be directly linked to your Figma designs, providing a clear connection between initial concepts and final designs.

Conclusion

By mastering these hidden features, you can unlock the full potential of Figma, making your design process more efficient, flexible, and creative. Whether you're working on a solo project or collaborating with a team, these tips will help you stay ahead of the curve.