10 Hidden Figma Features Every Designer Should Know

Intro

You want to move faster. Ship cleaner prototypes. Reduce the friction of handoffs and design reviews. Read this and you’ll learn 10 lesser-known Figma features that do exactly that - features that take minutes to learn and save hours in the long run. Quick wins. Big impact.

Why these matter

Each feature below is practical: it reduces repetitive work, improves your prototypes, or makes collaboration less error-prone. You’ll get the short what, the how, and the pro tips so you can use them in real projects today.

1) Interactive Components - real component-level interactions

What it is

Interactive Components let you build interactions directly inside component variants - for example, a button that animates between default, hover, and pressed states without duplicating frames.

When to use

Building reusable UI elements with built-in animations.
Prototyping controls (toggles, menus, chips) that should behave the same everywhere.

How to use

Create a component and add variants (hover, pressed, active, etc.).
In Prototype mode, set interactions between the variants (e.g., On Hover → Change to Hover variant, Animation → Smart Animate).
Use the component instances across your file; interactions carry with them.

Pro tips

Use consistent layer names across variants to make Smart Animate smoother.
Keep motion small and purposeful; interactive components are best for micro-interactions.

Learn more: Figma Help - Create interactive components.

2) Component Properties & Advanced Variants - design tokens for components

What it is

Beyond small/large variants, Component Properties let you expose boolean, instance-swap, text, and number properties on component instances - giving designers and devs predictable, easy-to-use controls.

When to use

When a single component should handle many states without hundreds of variants.
To avoid creating multiple near-identical components just to toggle an icon or label.

How to use

Create properties inside the main component (visible in the right panel when the component is selected).
Use Boolean properties to toggle visibility of layers (e.g., icon on/off), Instance properties to swap nested components, and Text properties to allow safe text overrides.

Pro tips

Use Boolean properties instead of separate variants when the change is binary (e.g., show/hide badge).
Combine with Interactive Components to make interactive, property-driven elements.

Figma docs: Create variants for components.

3) Advanced Auto Layout - stop wrestling with spacing

What it is

Auto Layout is enormously powerful once you move past the basics: use “Hug content”, “Fill container”, the new “Space between” distribution, absolute positioning inside Auto Layout, and nested Auto Layouts for complex responsive UIs.

When to use

Building cards, lists, nav bars, and responsive components.
When you want predictable resizing across breakpoints or dynamic content lengths.

How to use

Set a parent frame to Auto Layout.
For children, experiment with Horizontal/Vertical direction + spacing mode (Packed vs Space Between).
Use “Hug” when you want content-driven sizing and “Fill” when a child should expand.
Toggle “Absolute position” on a child when you need it to overlap but remain inside the Auto Layout.

Pro tips

Nest small Auto Layout frames rather than making one giant layout - predictability improves.
Use padding and individual child spacing to avoid manual nudging.

Learn the basics: Auto layout guide.

4) Vector Networks - edit vectors without the constraints of strict paths

What it is

Figma’s Vector Network lets you create complex shapes without being limited to a single, connected path. You can branch paths, join and disconnect nodes, and edit strokes more flexibly than traditional pen tools.

When to use

Illustrations, custom icons, and shapes that need branching paths or multiple open subpaths.

How to use

Use the Pen tool (P) and notice you can click in multiple places to create branches.
Use “Join” to connect nodes or select segments and press Backspace/Delete to remove them without breaking the whole network.

Pro tips

Convert strokes to fills (Outline stroke) when you need precise booleans or to export complex stroke shapes.
Keep vector layers named and grouped for easier reuse as icons or components.

Deep dive: Use the Pen tool and vector network.

5) Branching & Merging - versioning that actually works for teams

What it is

Instead of making messy duplicate files for experiments, use Branches to explore features and then merge them back into the main file with a clear changelog and conflict resolution.

When to use

Feature work that could disrupt the main file (big redesigns, component library updates).
Cross-team work where stakeholders need to review changes before publishing.

How to use

Create a branch from the file. Make your changes isolated to the branch.
Open a Merge Request, describe the changes, and invite reviewers.
Resolve merge conflicts with Figma’s visual conflict editor, then merge.

Pro tips

Create one branch per feature, not per tweak. Keep branches focused.
Use descriptive merge request titles and screenshots for reviewers.

Official guide: Branch and merge files in Figma.

6) Selection Colors & Global swaps - change palettes in seconds

What it is

Selection Colors surfaces every color used in your current selection (fills, strokes, effects) so you can remap, replace or create styles in bulk.

When to use

Swapping brand colors across a component set.
Converting a design to a dark mode color palette quickly.

How to use

Select frames or layers. Open the Fill panel and expand “Selection colors”.
Click a color to replace it across the selection, or create a color style from a selection for reuse.

Pro tips

Use Selection Colors before publishing updates to the library to ensure consistent global updates.
Pair with color styles to maintain a single source of truth.

Docs: Create and manage styles.

7) Tidy Up & Smart Distribution - get spacing right instantly

What it is

Tidy Up automatically rearranges items into a clean grid or row with consistent spacing. Combined with Align & Distribute tools, it removes guesswork from spacing layout.

When to use

Re-ordering a messy set of icons or list items.
Preparing a frame for export or handoff where consistent spacing matters.

How to use

Select multiple objects and use the Tidy Up command (in the right-click menu or top bar).
Use Align and Distribute to center or equally space objects if you prefer manual control.

Pro tips

Tidy Up respects Auto Layout - use it to jumpstart a tidy Auto Layout structure.
If spacing looks off, check for invisible padding or stray empty objects.

Reference: Align and distribute objects.

8) Smart Animate + Preserve Scroll Position - prototypes that feel real

What it is

Smart Animate interpolates between frames by matching layer names and properties. “Preserve scroll position” lets you keep a scroll container from jumping when switching frames - essential for native-feeling transitions.

When to use

Animated transitions between states (open a card, animate content changes).
Keeping lists or feeds from jumping when an overlay opens.

How to use

Name layers consistently across frames to enable Smart Animate.
For overlays or detail screens that should keep the feed position, enable “Preserve scroll position” on the scroll frame in Prototype settings.

Pro tips

Animate properties that make sense (opacity, position, scale); avoid animating large layout changes with Smart Animate - performance degrades.
Use short durations for micro-interactions; longer for full-screen transitions.

9) Plugins & Widgets - automate boring work and extend Figma

What it is

Plugins are scripts that modify your document; Widgets are persistent, interactive elements inside FigJam. Both are ecosystem extensible and can automate tasks like cleaning up layers, generating content, accessibility checks, or syncing tokens.

When to use

Batch renaming, content population, design linting, or generating avatars and lorem ipsum.
Adding collaborative widgets in FigJam sessions.

How to use

Install plugins from the Community (Plugins tab) or run them from the Resources menu.
Use trusted plugins for tasks you repeat often (Design Lint, Content Reel, Stark, Figma Tokens).

Pro tips

Only install plugins from reputable authors; check reviews and update frequency.
Automate repetitive tasks with plugins but keep the final checks manual - automation can’t know your intent.

Docs: Use plugins in Figma.

10) Quick Actions & Hidden Command Bar - move at keyboard speed

What it is

Quick Actions (Cmd/Ctrl + /) is Figma’s command palette. It’s the fastest way to trigger any action, run a plugin, change view settings, or jump to a file.

When to use

When you don’t remember a shortcut or want to run a command without hunting menus.
Executing plugins or toggling layout grids quickly in a review.

How to use

Press Cmd+/ (Mac) or Ctrl+/ (Windows) to open Quick Actions and start typing the action name.

Pro tips

Learn just a handful of shortcuts for common actions and rely on Quick Actions for the rest - it’s faster than scrolling through menus.

Figma help: search the command palette in the app or open Quick Actions to try it.

Final workflow tips - how to combine these features

Use Component Properties + Interactive Components to build polished, reusable controls.
Use Auto Layout + Selection Colors to make components responsive and themeable.
Use Branches when changing shared libraries, then merge with clear change notes.
Keep a small set of favorite plugins for repetitive tasks and only run them in focused passes.

You can transform your daily workflow with small changes. A few minutes learning these features yields hours saved next week. Use them to build faster, prototype clearer, and collaborate smarter.

References