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• Explore the canvas

  Before you Start

  Who can use this feature

  Supported on any team or plan

  Anyone with can view access to a file can explore and move around the canvas

  The canvas in Figma is the backdrop on which all of your frames, groups, and other layers live. It has a finite size of -65,000 through +65,000 on each axis.

  By default, vectors are rendered as resolution-independent paths in the canvas though you can turn on Pixel Preview at 1x and 2x resolutions to enable pixel-precise editing for raster assets.

  The default background color of the canvas is determined by your current theme: light or dark. While in light mode, newly created files default to a light-gray background color #F5F5F5. While in dark mode, they’ll default to an off-black color #1E1E1E. New pages determine their background color based on the current page’s background color, and don’t rely on your current theme.

  Change a background color by de-selecting any layers and using the color picker from the Background section of the right sidebar.

  

  If you like having rulers visible on your canvas, you can use the Shift + R shortcut to enable them. You can also use the search feature under the menu icon to search for rulers. 

  

• View layers and pages in the left sidebar

  Who can use this feature

  Supported on any team or plan.

  Anyone with can edit access can view and interact with all panels in the left sidebar.

  Anyone with only can view access can view layers or navigate between pages in the file.

  Figma design files have four distinct interactive areas: a toolbar, two sidebars, and a scrollable canvas. These areas allow you to access, create and adjust elements of your design.

  In this article, we're going to cover the left sidebar which gives you access to layers and pages in your file. You can also use the left sidebar to view local components and access components from other libraries.

  Open the left sidebar

  There are three headings in the left sidebar: Layers, Assets, and Pages. Use these headings to switch between each panel in the sidebar. You can also use keyboard shortcuts:

  Mac

  • Layers panel and Pages: ⌥ Option 1
  • Assets panel: ⌥ Option 2

  Windows

  • Layers panel and Pages: Alt 1
  • Assets panel: Alt 2

  

  Toggle layers panel

  Toggle visibility of the left sidebar using the keyboard shortcut:

  • Mac: ⌘ Command Shift \
  • Windows: Ctrl Shift \

  You can also toggle the visibility of the entire Figma UI by using the Show/Hide UI keyboard shortcut:

  • Mac: ⌘ Command \
  • Windows: Ctrl \

  This allows you to view your designs in the canvas, without the Figma UI.

  

  Tip! You can adjust the width of the left sidebar. This allows you to better see layer or asset names.

  1. Hover your cursor over the right-edge of the sidebar. A bidirectional arrow will appear.
  2. Click and drag to adjust the width of the panel.
  3. Release to set the sidebar width.

  View layers

  Any Frames, Groups or Objects you add to the canvas will be visible in the Layers panel. You can determine if a Layer is a Frame, Group or a specific type of Object by the icon next to it:

  • Frame
  • Group
  • Component
  • Instance
  • Text
  • Shape—Icon varies depending on the shape. Learn more → 
  • Image
  • Auto layout—Icon varies depending on the auto layout configuration. Learn more → 
  • Section
  • Animated GIF or video

  Figma nests any child objects within their parent group or frame. This allows you to collapse and expand layers within a group or Frame.

  New layers will be added to the top of the list, or the top of the group or frame it is contained within. Or, just above the layer you currently have selected.
  
  If your layers are inside a section, the section will always be the parent-level layer.

  There are lots of interactions you can have

  • Select layers, groups and frames
  • Adjust the z-index with layer order
  • Rename layers individually or in bulk
  • Toggle layer visibility
  • Lock and unlock layers

  Tip! You can enable or disable the Highlight layers on hover setting. Search for Highlight in the menu. Or head to Menu > Preferences > Highlight layers on hover

  View components in the assets panel

  Components are aspects of your designs that you can reuse. These could be buttons or icons, or more complex UI elements like navigation menus or status bars.

  The Assets panel is where you can find all of your Components. You can drag any Component from the Assets panel into the canvas to create an Instance.

  To open the Assets panel, click on the Assets heading in the Layers panel.

  Or, use the keyboard shortcut:

  • Mac: ⌥ Option 2
  • Windows: Alt 2

  Once you've opened the Assets panel, you can:

  1. 1 Use the Search field to find a specific component. Figma looks for components in the current file, as well as any libraries you can access.

  2. 2 Switch between a Grid and List view of Components

  3. 3 Open the Library modal

  4. 4 View Local components that were created in the current file

  5. 5 View components that are Private to this file

  6. 6 View components that are Used in the file

  7. 7 Explore any enabled libraries

  

  Note: Figma groups components in the Assets panel by heading. If you have many components, Figma will present them as a path: file > page > frame

  • Explore a file, page or frame by clicking on the arrow to expand it
  • Collapse each heading to create more space in the Assets panel
  • Figma lists enabled team or organization libraries in the Assets panel
  • Create an instance by dragging a component from the Assets panel to the canvas

  Libraries

  Libraries allow you to publish styles and components from your files as a library. You can then apply styles or create instances of your components across files. Get started with libraries →

  To access your libraries from the Assets panel, click to open the Library modal.

  Pages

  Within a file, you can create as many pages as you need. Each page has its own canvas, where you can explore and iterate on your designs. You can even create separate prototypes on each page. Create and manage pages →

• Design, prototype, and inspect (right sidebar)

  Before you start

  Who can use this feature

  Users on any team or plan.

  Users with can edit access to a file can access all of the Properties Panel

  Users with View access to a File can only access the Code section

  When you're in the editor, you will see a sidebar on each side of the canvas. Along with the Toolbar, these sidebars make up the Figma UI.

  The Figma UI allows you to access, create and adjust elements of your design.

  • The left sidebar gives you access to the Layers, Assets, and pages included in your file. We call this the Layers panel. Learn more about navigating the Layers panel.
  • The Design tab of the right sidebar lets you view and adjust the properties of any object. You can also access the file's prototype settings and view the code of any selected object(s) in the Inspect panel.

  In this article, we're going to take you on a tour of the right sidebar. There are three tabs at the top the panel.

  Design

  The Design tab allows you to view, add, remove or change the properties of objects within your design.

  When you have nothing selected in the Design panel, you will be able to view any Styles that are local to the file. You'll also be able to update the background color of the canvas.

  

  Once you select a layer, the Design tab will consist of many different settings. The type of layer you've selected will determine what settings are available in the Design tab.

  For example, select a text object to view and adjust the text formatting. When you select a component, you can view, detach, or swap instances in the Instance menu.

  

  Any properties that are currently active will show up in black. Inactive properties that aren't applied to the selected layer will show as greyed out.

  The following properties are available in the Design tab:

  • Alignment and Distribution
  • Frame Size and Orientation 
  • Position on the Canvas (X and Y)
  • Dimensions of the Object (Width and Height)
  • Instance 
  • Constraints 
  • Layout Grid
  • Layer (Blend Modes)
  • Text 
  • Fill 
  • Stroke
  • Effects 
  • Export Settings 

  Prototype

  The Prototype tab gives you access to all the prototyping functionality.

  This allows you to establish connections between frames in your design. You can then apply transitions that simulate how a user might interact with them.

  The Prototype tab consists of five sections:

  1. Choose an Interaction

     Allows you to define the Trigger, Action and Destination for any Interactions.

  2. Apply an Animation

     Allows you to define the Transition that moves the users between Frames. You can also adjust the Direction, Easing, Duration and Smart Animation.

  3. Customize an Overlay

     Allows you to create tool-tips, interactive menus, alerts or confirmations.

  4. Define the Overflow Behavior

     Allows you to define how your prototype responds to scrolling. This allows you to create more advanced user interactions e.g. carousels, galleries or interactive maps.

  5. Adjust the Prototype Settings

     Allows you to adjust the Device, Background, and Starting point of your prototype.

  

  Tip! For an even more efficient workflow, you can quickly toggle between the Design and Prototype tabs using the keyboard shortcut Shift E.

  Learn more about about prototyping in Figma →

  Inspect

  The third option in the right sidebar is the Inspect tab. This allows you to see how to express elements of your design in code.

  You can choose from the following formats:

  1. CSS (Web Development)
  2. iOS (Swift)
  3. Android (XML)

  You can also toggle between a Code and List view, using the icons provided:

  Learn more about using the Inspect panel →

• Use the Inspect panel

  Who can use this feature

  Supported on any team or plan.

  Anyone with can edit access to a file can view, edit, and copy properties in the Design, Prototype and Inspect panels of the right sidebar.

  Anyone with can view access to a file can view and copy from the Inspect and Export panels in the right sidebar.

  The Inspect panel allows you and your collaborators to view and copy properties, values, and code from your designs. Copy single line items, or entire sets of properties, to help streamline the development process.

  People with can access can view, edit, and copy properties from the Design and Prototype tabs in the right sidebar. People with can view access can only view and copy properties using the Inspect and Export tabs.

  Select layers

  There are a few ways to select layers in a file. The default behavior for selecting layers depends on your access. Learn more about default layer selection →

  For people with can view access, the defaul behavior is different to those with edit access. When viewers make a selection in the canvas, Figma will:

  • Outline the selection using a solid purple box.
  • Outline the parent of the current selection using a dashed purple box.
  • Show the name of the selected layer(s) at the top of the Inspect panel in the right sidebar.
  • Show the Parent component underneath the selected layer in the Inspect panel. Click the in the Inspect panel to select the parent component.

  View property values

  Use the Inspect panel to view properties and values for any selection. The properties you will see here depend on the type of layers in your selection. View basic layer properties ↓, prototyping interactions ↓, and code output ↓.

  Layer properties

  1. A View the layer name and type.
  2. B View layer dimensions, auto layout properties, or any constraints.
  3. C View any Color styles and values in Hex, RGB, CSS, HSL, and HSB color models.
  4. D View effects, like inner and drop Shadows, as well as stroke properties (Borders).
  5. E Text layers: view the text Content and any Typography values; including font, weight, line height, and more.
  6. F Components and instances: view the name, description, and a link to any external documentation. Click to view the component library file. Add style and component descriptions →

  

  Prototyping interactions

  The Interaction section shows you values for prototype interactions for the current frame. This includes:

  1. What trigger starts the interaction. Depending on the device, this could be a mouse or touch interaction.
  2. The prototype action and a link to the destination frame when using Navigate to, Swap overlay, and Open overlay
  3. Animation type. Animations create smooth transitions between screens in a prototype.
  4. Animation easing curve. Easing determines the acceleration of the transition between a starting frame and its destination.
  5. Duration of the entire animation, in milliseconds.

  

  Code output

  The Code section of the Inspect tab shows you how to express layers in code.

  1. Select a layer to view its properties in the Inspect panel. Use the Select Parent keyboard shortcut to jump to a layer's parent frame:
     • Mac:⇧ ShiftReturn
     • Windows:ShiftEnter
  2. Choose between CSS (no HTML), iOS (Swift), and Android (XML).
  3. Switch between Code and Table view.

  

  Code view

  The Code view shows you code snippets in your selected language. These may serve as a useful reference while you're implementing a design. This includes:

  • Name and description of any components
  • Name and descriptions of any styles
  • View the contents of a text layer
  • Any alternative values available for the selected object

  Table view

  The Table view shows list of attributes for that layer. This includes:

  • The X and Y co-ordinates of the layer based on its position on the canvas
  • The width (W) and height (H) of the object
  • Any text properties, including font family, size, font weight, line height, etc.
  • A color swatch and the CSS notation for any color values

  Tip! With the Inspect tab open, you can measure distances between layers without a modifier key. Select a layer or object, then hover over a nearby layer to measure the distance between them.

  Additional notes

  CSS iOS Android

  • The CSS option only shows CSS. There is no way to export full HTML code.
  • Switch to the Table view to see a list of all properties applied to a layer or object.
  • If the font style is set to normal, this means it uses that font's default font-weight.
  • If you are missing some text attributes, check that you have the same font installed. If not, you can use local fonts with Figma Font Helper.
  • Figma shows CSS positions in pixels. To show these as a percentage of the viewport, apply scale constraints to your objects.

  • Figma only displays colors in RGBa format. This is because iOS uses UIcolor which is based on RGBA values. This results in an 8 hexadecimal value, where the last two values represent the color's Opacity (a).
  • Our Frame Presets and iOS code are set in points, not pixels. This allows you to create assets for screens at multiple pixel densities. While you can't access these variations in the Code view, you can export any asset at a density of 1x, 2x and/or 3x.

  • Figma uses the ARGB color profile for Android code. This results in an 8 hexadecimal value, instead of the usual 6. The first two hexadecimals will refer to the color's Opacity (A).
  • Our Android code output takes into account the recommended 24dp height of the status bar.

  Copy properties and values

  To copy a property or value, hover over the section you want to copy.

  1. A To copy all values in the section to your clipboard, click Copy next to the section header.
  2. B To copy a single value, click on a single line item.

  

  Export assets

  You, or a collaborator, may need to export layers, assets, and designs as part of the development process.

  You can apply export settings to layers to define the format and any other export settings. Figma supports the following export formats: PNG, JPG, SVG, and PDF. Learn more about exports in Figma →