Designing interfaces in Figma can become very time-consuming, especially if it’s a large project and things must be done quickly.
I recently came across these Figma shortcuts that have drastically improved my speed and workflow.
1. Toggle between Layers and the Assets panels
Toggle between Layers and Assets panels in Figma
Mousing around toggling the Layers and Assets panels could become repetitive and time-consuming, but there’s a faster way to do so — without moving your mouse!
Just use the shortcuts Alt + 2 (or ⌥ + 2 on Mac) to switch to the assets panel, and Alt + 1 ( ⌥ + 1 on Mac) to switch back to the layers panel. Quick and easy!
2. Toggle between the Design and Prototype panels
Toggle between Design and Prototype panels in Figma
This is almost the same as the previous example, however, you may be using this more often as you prototype your designs.
So, instead of moving your mouse to the top right of your screen to switch panels, use the shortcut Alt + 9 (or ⌥ + 9 on Mac) to switch to Prototype and back to the Design panel with Alt + 8 (or ⌥ + 8 on Mac).
Note : this can also be done using another shortcut Shift + E.
3. Easily search for saved plugins
Quick search shortcut for plugins in Figma
Before knowing this shortcut to access saved plugins, I’d go to the plugins side menu, and scroll through the list until I found the one I would use. Also, when reusing the plugin, I’d repeat the same process…again.
However, those days are now officially over with this shortcut. The next time you want to access your saved or recently used plugins, try Ctrl + / (or ⌘ + / on Mac). Type in the name of your desired saved plugins and you should see them right there!
For recently used plugins, use this instead: Alt + Ctrl + P (or ⌘ + ⌥ + P on Mac).
4. Align selections to any side of a frame
Align a selection to any side of a frame in Figma
When creating frames, shapes, text and components in Figma (within a frame), there is the need to align these selections to either the left, top, right or bottom of a frame.
The go-to approach is to use the alignment tools in the top right of the Design panel. However, there are faster ways to do so.
If you game on a computer using a keyboard, you may be familiar with these keys: W , A , S , and D.
If you don’t game, that’s alright too. Here’s how these keys help to align to any side of a frame:
- Alt (or ⌥) + W — Aligns to the top of the frame
- Alt (or ⌥) + A — Aligns to the left of the frame
- Alt (or ⌥) + S — Aligns to the bottom of the frame
- Alt (or ⌥) + D — Aligns to the right of the frame
5. Align horizontally and vertically
Align selections horizontally and vertically in Figma
This has been a valuable shortcut when aligning horizontally or vertically. Use the shortcuts Alt + H (or Option + H on Mac) to align horizontally and Alt + V (or Option + V on Mac) to align vertically.
This saves a lot of time when aligning assets in a design, without mousing all over align via the Design panel.
These are a few shortcuts that have been a timesaver for me. I hope you find value in this article and if you do, please share and leave me a comment below.
Thanks for reading. Ciao 😀
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