Introducing Smart Selection - speed up your design explorations | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Smart Selection is designed to reduce the repetitive work involved in arranging and refining multiple objects in Figma. It lets designers adjust spacing, position, and size directly on the canvas, helping them explore ideas faster while preserving familiar design workflows. The accompanying Tidy Up feature automatically organizes uneven selections into consistently spaced layouts. ## Smart Selection - Works automatically on selections or groups of three or more objects with uniform spacing. - Pink handles between objects let users adjust the spacing of all items at once. - A ring control allows objects to be rearranged quickly. - Selecting an item’s pink ring enables resizing by dragging its edges. - The feature is implemented as a direct canvas interaction rather than a separate tool or object type. ## Tidy Up - Tidy Up converts messy arrangements into evenly spaced groups suitable for Smart Selection. - It shifts selected items closer together while maintaining consistent spacing. - Unlike a traditional distribute command, it ensures spacing is even and compact. - It is useful for organizing tables, toolbars, and large sets of screens. - A layout containing 20 screens, for example, can be aligned in one action instead of manually correcting 19 separate gaps. - The command is available through the right sidebar, with shortcuts: - macOS: `⌥⌘T` - Other platforms: `Ctrl-Alt-T` ## Future Development - Figma planned to add support for two-dimensional grids. - The team invited users to provide feedback through the in-app help button or Spectrum. Smart Selection and Tidy Up are intended to replace tedious manual resizing, moving, and spacing adjustments with fast, intuitive canvas interactions, allowing designers to spend more time exploring creative possibilities.