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    Guide to sharing and permissions

    In this article, we'll cover all the ways you can share resources in Figma. Your Figma team or plan will determine what access and permissions are available.

    Resources

    There are five levels of access in Figma. In most circumstances, inviting someone at each level gives them access to all the resources below that level too.

    For example: inviting someone to a team gives them access to all the projects in that team, as well as any files and prototypes in each of the team's projects.

    • Organization
    • Team
    • Project
    • File
    • Prototype

    Resources.png

    Note: The one circumstance this doesn't apply to is when inviting guests to an organization. You can only invite guests to teams, projects, or files within the organization. They can't be invited to the organization itself. Members versus guests →

    Methods

    There are three main methods for sharing resources in Figma:

    • Invite people to a specific resource
    • Share a link to a resource
    • Embed a resource outside of Figma
    Method Organization Team Project File Prototype

    Invite specific people to a resource

    		 Only if domain capture is off ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

    Share a link to a resource

    		 Members only ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓

    Embed files and prototypes in external tools

    		 Members only ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓

    Invitations

    You can invite someone to an organization, team, project, file, or prototype. You'll need to know the person's email address to invite them to the resource.

    Figma will notify them of the invitation via email, and in their Figma notifications, if they already have a Figma account. They will need to accept that invitation to get access to any related resources.

    Organization

    Organization admins will define what domains are associated with their business as part of the set up process. Organizations can have more than one domain, including subdomains.

    If domain capture is off, you can invite people to the entire organization:

    • If they have a company email, Figma considers them a member. This gives them access to the open and closed teams in the organization, as well as other organization-wide resources.
    • If they have an external email to an organization, Figma considers them a guest. They can only view and access the teams, projects, or files to which you invite them.

    If domain capture is on, you can only invite members and guests to teams, projects, or files in the organization. Members can join and access the rest of the organization by accepting one of those invitations.

    Add organization members and guests →

    Team

    When you invite someone to a team, you give them access to the files and projects in that team. You can choose what permissions they have when you invite them, or adjust their access as needed. People inherit access to the team's files and projects based on their team permissions.

    Invite team members →

    Project

    When you invite someone to a project you're giving them explicit access to that project. If they aren't a member of that team, they'll only be able to access the files in that specific project.

    Files and prototypes

    Files and prototypes use the same share modal and settings. When you invite someone to a specific file, they also get access to any prototypes (Figma design files only).

    On Figma's paid plans, you can access extra settings:

    • Invite someone to a prototype without giving them access to the file itself.
    • Choose whether anyone with can view access can copy, share, or export assets from files.

    Invite to files and projects →

    The fastest way to share resources with others is to send them the link.

    Team join links let existing team members invite other collaborators to your team via a dedicated link. Like team invites, you can invite collaborators with can view and can edit permissions.

    Once someone clicks the link, Figma will add them to the team. People who are logged into Figma under multiple accounts can choose which account they want to join the team on.

    Team admins can reset invite links or turn off invite links to expire existing links that haven't been redeemed.

    You can only access the project via link if you are a member of the team or if you have been invited to the project itself.

    Copy the link to a team project to quickly share it with a team member. To share projects with an external collaborator, you'll need to invite them to the project instead.

    Share a Figjam or Figma design file link with someone. If they have access to the team, project, or file already, they can interact with the file based on those permissions. If they don't, the file’s link sharing settings will determine what level of access they can get.

    A file's link sharing settings control what access anyone who joins the file via a link has. Your team or plan type will determine what options are available.

    If you are on the Professional, Organization, or Enterprise plan people with view only access can request to edit the file. Anyone with can edit and owner access to files can approve requests. Request to edit files →

    A Figma design file and prototype use the same share modal and settings.

    On paid plans, you can set link sharing setting to Can view prototypes only to allow anyone opening the prototype link to access the prototype only and not the file.

    Embed a resource outside of Figma

    Caution: It’s not possible to add embeds within desktop applications, you can only add embeds in browser-based applications.

    Embed a file or prototype in a website or external application to bring your designs and prototypes to your team.

    • Add style and component libraries in your design system documentation
    • Include detailed feature designs and explorations in a PRD, spec document, or user story
    • Keep your FigJam files alongside meeting notes
    • Embed or share prototypes in testing environments

    People can interact with embeds based on their permissions on that file. They’ll be prompted to log in to their Figma account if it’s a private file. Share or embed your files and prototypes →

    Access and permissions

    You can control access to Figma resources with account types, roles, and permissions. 

    It's possible for a person to have different permissions at a team, project, and file level. This can make it hard to tell what someone's access to an individual resource is.

    As a general rule, Figma honors explicit permissions over inherited permissions. 

    • If you invite someone to a team, their permissions on team projects and files are inherited from their team permissions. 
    • If you invite someone to a specific resource — like a file or project — you are giving them explicit permissions on that resource.

    For example: Vanessa invites James to the Product design team with can view permissions. Vanessa wants James to edit a specific file in a team project, so she invites James to that file with can edit access.

    Normally, James' access to team files would be inherited from his can view team permissions. Now that James has explicit edit access to that file, Figma ignores his inherited team permissions.

    James can edit that specific file, but no other team files.

    Your permissions will depend on the team or organization plan you're on. Select the tab for your plan below to explore available permissions.

    In teams on the Starter plan, a person’s team permissions determine their access to team files and projects. All teams have the same permissions: can view, can edit, admin, and one owner. Team permissions →

    Projects

    Every project has a “team access” setting. In Starter and Education teams, team access is Can edit. Team members can then access team projects based on their team permissions.

    Files and prototypes

    Team members inherit access to a team’s FigJam and Figma design files based on their team permissions. You can also invite external collaborators (or team members) to individual.

    There are two permissions when inviting to a team file: can view and can edit.

    Outside of team or explicit access to a file, file’s also have link sharing settings. Share links to files and set default permissions for anyone who accesses a file this way.

    There are two aspects of link sharing: access and permissions.

    Access

    Can edit

    Can view

    Can view prototypes only

    Anyone with the link

    ✓

    		 ✓ ✕

    Only people invited to the file

    		 Access based on user's permissions

    Drafts

    If someone only has teams on the Starter plan, they can only invite collaborators to drafts with Can view access.

    If someone only has access to at least one team on the Education or Professional plan, they can invite people to drafts with either can view or can edit permissions.

    For teams on the Education plan, a person’s team permissions determine their access to team files and projects. All teams have the same permissions: can view, can edit, admin, and one team owner.

    Note: In teams on the Education plan, admins (and owners) have edit access to the team. It's not possible to give admins view only access.

    Projects

    Every project has a team access setting. In teams on the Education plan, team access is always set to Can edit. Team members can then access projects based on their team permissions.

    Files and prototypes

    Team members inherit access to a team’s FigJam and Figma design files based on their team permissions. You can also invite external collaborators (or team members) to individual.

    There are two permissions when inviting to a team file: can view and can edit.

    Outside of team or explicit access to a file, file’s also have link sharing settings. Share links to files and set default permissions for anyone who accesses a file this way.

    There are two aspects of link sharing: access and permissions.

    Access

    Can edit

    Can view

    Can view prototypes only

    Anyone with the link

    		 ✕

    ✓

    		 ✕

    Only people invited to the file

    		 Access based on user's permissions

    Drafts

    On the Education plan, people can invite collaborators to their drafts with either can view or can edit permissions.

    In a Professional team, team permissions determine what team-level actions a member can take. All teams have the same team permissions: can view, can edit, admin, and one team owner.

    Whether someone can edit a FigJam or Figma design files depends on their role on that product. Roles are set at a team-level, there are three roles in a Professional team: viewer, viewer-restricted, and editor.

    Projects

    Every project has a team access setting. Professional teams can adjust a project's team access setting. This allows you to create both view-only or invite-only projects.

    Team admins or members with can edit permissions can update a project’s team access:

    • Can view: Only the project creator or owner can edit a view-only project. Team members can only view files in this project, even if they have can edit permissions on the team. The project owner can allow team members and external collaborators to edit the project by inviting them to the project with can edit permissions.
    • Can edit: The default permission for team projects. Members can access projects based on their team-level permissions and their FigJam or Figma design role.
    • Invite-only: team members don't have access to private projects. Team members can only access invite-only projects if they are invited to them. This is perfect for projects which need a smaller group of collaborators, or for confidential products or features. For example: a subset of team members that build and maintain the team's design system.

    Files

    Team members inherit access to a team’s FigJam and Figma design files based on their team permissions. You can also invite external collaborators (or team members) to individual.

    There are three permissions when inviting to a team file:

    • Can view
    • Can edit
    • Can view prototypes only

    Whether someone can edit a FigJam or Figma design files depends on their role on that product. Outside of team or explicit access to a file, file’s also have link sharing settings.

    Link sharing is a great way to get your designs in front of other collaborators. You can set default permissions for anyone who accesses a file this way. 

    By default, anyone with can view access to the file will be able to copy and share the file and its contents. You can also decide if people with can view access can copy, share, or export from the file.

    There are two aspects of link sharing: access and permissions. In a Professional team, you have the following link sharing settings:

    Access

    Can edit

    Can view

    Can view prototypes

    Anyone with the link

    ✕

    		 ✓ ✓

    Only people invited to the file

    		 Access based on user's permissions

     

    Prototypes

    In teams on the Professional plan, you can invite someone to just the prototype. A Figma design file and its prototype use the same share modal.

    When you open the share modal from presentation view, Figma will default the invitation to Can view prototypes only. This allows anyone with that link to view all prototypes on that page.

    Drafts

    If someone only has access to at least one team on the Education or Professional plan, they can invite people to their drafts with either can view or can edit permissions.

    There are multiple levels of roles and permissions in an organization.

    Organization

    Account types are specific to the Organization plan. A person’s account type determines what organization resources and settings they can access. There are three account types: member, guest, and admin.

    Figma has two products: Figma design and FigJam. They are priced separately, but billed together on the organization’s subscription. Every person in the organization will have a FigJam role and Figma design role.

    Their role determines whether they can edit that file type or not. There are three roles on the Organization plan: viewer, viewer-restricted, and editor.

    Teams

    Organization members can join multiple teams in the organization. To control what access each member has to the team, there are also team permissions. Team permissions are the same across all team types: can view, can edit, admin, and one owner.

    Team permissions only determine what team-level actions a member can take. Whether someone can edit a FigJam or Figma design files depends on their role on that product, which is set at the organization-level.

    Teams in an organization have an Org access setting. This controls how members of the organization can find and join the team. There are three access levels:

    • Open: members join open teams with can view permissions. Members can also be invited to any time with either can view or can edit access.
    • Closed: members can request to join closed teams with either can view or can edit access. A team admin can accept or reject their request.
    • Secret: members can only be invited to secret teams. Members and guests can be invited with either can view or can edit access.
    Roles and permissions in teams →

    Projects

    Every project has a team access setting. Teams in an organization can set permissions at a project level to create both view-only or invite-only projects.

    Team admins or members with can edit permissions can update a project’s team access:

    • Can view: Only the project creator or owner can edit a view-only project. Team members can only view files in this project, even if they have can edit permissions on the team. The project owner can allow team members and external collaborators to edit the project by inviting them to the project with can edit permissions.
    • Can edit: The default permission for team projects. Members can access projects based on their team-level permissions and their FigJam or Figma design role.
    • Invite-only: team members don't have access to private projects. Team members can only access invite-only projects if they are invited to them. This is perfect for projects which need a smaller group of collaborators, or for confidential products or features. For example: a subset of team members that build and maintain the team's design system.

    Files

    Team members inherit access to a team’s FigJam and Figma design files based on their team permissions. You can also invite external collaborators (or team and organization members) to individual files.

    There are three permissions when inviting to files:

    • Can view
    • Can edit
    • Can view prototypes only

    Outside of team or explicit access to a file, file’s also have link sharing settings. This allows you to quickly share links to files and set default permissions for anyone who accesses a file this way.

    There are two aspects of link sharing: access and permissions. Files in an organization have extra link sharing options, to make it easier to find and access organization resources.

    Whether someone can edit a FigJam or Figma design files depends on their role on that product.

    Access

    Can edit

    Can view

    Can view prototypes only

    Anyone with the link

    ✕

    		 ✓ ✓

    Anyone at organization with the link

    		 ✓ ✓ ✓

    Anyone at organization

    		 ✓ ✓ ✓

    Only people invited to the file

    		 Access based on user's permissions

    There is also a dedicated setting for prototypes on the share modal, which you can view from the Figma design file and the prototype(s):

    • Can view prototypes only
    • Cannot access

    Link sharing is a great way to get your designs in front of other collaborators. By default, anyone with can view access to the file will be able to copy and share the file and its contents.

    In an Organization, you can decide if anyone with can view access can copy, share, or export from the file. This includes people who were added to the file via link sharing.

    If you choose to restrict this access, people with can view access will no longer be able to:

    • Copy frames, layers, or text from the canvas
    • Duplicate the file to their account
    • Export any assets from the file
    • Save a local copy of the file (as a .fig or .jam file)

    Prototypes

    A Figma design file and its prototype use the same share modal. In an organization, you can invite someone to just the prototype.

    When you open the share modal from presentation view, Figma will default the invitation to Can view prototypes only. This allows anyone with that link to view all prototypes on that page.

    There is also a dedicated setting for prototypes on the share modal, which you can view from the Figma design file and the prototype(s):

    • Can view prototypes only
    • Cannot access

    Drafts

    A member's role will determine whether they can share or invite people to their drafts. Sharing a file from your drafts is considered an upgrade action in an organization. Organization members can invite people to drafts with can view or can edit permissions.

    Note: Drafts are owned by the organization. When a member leaves, the organization will claim ownership of any drafts.

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