Before you start
Who can use this feature
Anyone can create files in their Drafts. Only editors and admins can create files in teams.
Files are what we call documents in Figma.
Files provide the canvas where you can arrange your layers and objects to create designs.
You can also use Files to build and animate realistic Prototypes. Or, handoff your designs to developers and engineers.
File Structure
There are five levels of file structure and organization within Figma. You can use these elements to create a system that works for you.
- Organization (Figma Organization only)
- Teams
- Projects
- Files
- Pages

Files are where most of the design and collaboration process takes place. They provide the canvas where you can:
- Brainstorm ideas
- Wireframe basic interfaces
- Create High-Fidelity mock ups
- Build Prototypes
- Create Presentations
You can create a new file in your Drafts folder, or within a Project.
You can open each page of a file in Presentation View. You can use this to preview designs, present slides, or test out Prototypes.
You can collaborate with other people in the same file at the same time. Internally, we refer to this as "Multiplayer".
Figma will periodically save versions of your file to Version History, or you can save your own versions. You can then view, save, share and restore file versions.
You can also create as many pages as you need within a file. Pages give you even more space to explore.
Create custom thumbnails to easily identify and organize files in your File Browser.
File Permissions
Want to share your files and collaborate with others? Share your files and projects, as soon as you're ready to collaborate. File permissions let you:
- Invite others to files in your Drafts or projects.
- Choose how collaborators can interact with your File using Permissions.
- Team Members can interact with any Team Files based on their Team Permissions.
- Give a Team member access to a File that's different permissions than their Team access.
- Invite someone from outside of the Team to a specific File.
Learn more in our articles below:
Figma files us our own file format: .fig
This file format is specific to Figma and cannot be opened by any other tool.
You can save files in .fig format when you want to export, back up or move your Files between Figma accounts.
If you want to export your design to other tools, we recommend that you copy and paste the Frames. Or, export SVGs and import them into other tools.
Learn more in our Copy assets between design tools article.
We also support imports of .sketch Files. Learn more in our Import Sketch Files article.