figmaJan 24, 2024

What’s next for Dev Mode: Annotations, Compare Changes, Plugins, and More | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma is moving Dev Mode out of free beta on January 31, 2024, while adding features designed to improve design-to-development handoff. The update introduces connected annotations, richer visual and code comparisons, customizable plugins, Jira integration, and a redesigned VS Code experience. Dev Mode will require a paid seat after the beta ends. ## Annotations for clearer handoff - Designers can add measurements, properties, specifications, and contextual notes directly to design layers. - Annotations update automatically when the associated design changes. - They appear or disappear at different zoom levels, keeping designs informative without cluttering the canvas. - Teams can use plugins to create and manage annotations in bulk. ## Visual and code-based change comparisons - The compare changes experience has been redesigned to show differences both visually and in code. - The Figma for Jira app brings design context into Jira issues. - Jira users can receive notifications when related designs change. ## Custom code generation with plugins - Codegen plugins let teams generate code for technologies such as HTML, React, Tailwind, and Bootstrap. - Organizations can customize generated output around their frameworks, design systems, component libraries, and internal APIs. - Plugins can validate design-system usage, link to documentation, and identify existing code components. - Enterprise administrators can pin plugins and configure them to run by default across organizational files. - Figma highlights custom implementations such as Razorpay’s RazorSharp plugin. ## Improvements to Figma for VS Code - The extension makes it easier to inspect designs without switching between tools. - A redesigned navigation experience replaces difficult canvas panning with a grid of frames. - Developers can open individual frames in a focused view. - Plugins can now run directly in VS Code, including private and customized tools. Teams using Dev Mode should prepare for the paid-seat requirement and evaluate annotations, plugins, Jira integration, and the VS Code extension to fit their existing handoff and design-system workflows.

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figmaNov 7, 2023

Three Creator Fund projects to know and love | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

The Figma Creator Fund supports creators building free plugins, widgets, templates, and educational resources for Figma Community. Since launching in March, it has awarded nearly $300,000 to 13 creators in nine countries, reaching almost a million users. The post highlights how these grants help creators solve difficult, practical problems while keeping their tools freely available. ## The Creator Fund’s Purpose - The program funds resources that expand what creators can do in Figma. - Supported projects include: - Mandarin-language design systems tutorials - Developer-platform education tools - Design-to-code plugins - Free templates and widgets - Figma prioritizes projects that: - Address challenging problems - Save users time - Offer practical value - Can remain free for the wider community - Applicants are encouraged to present a clear vision, invest effort in their application, prepare visuals, and pursue ideas they genuinely care about. ## Figma to Code by Bernardo Ferrari - Based in Curitiba, Brazil, Bernardo Ferrari created Figma to Code, a plugin that converts Figma designs into: - HTML - Tailwind CSS - Flutter - SwiftUI - The project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Bernardo helped rebuild a state-level virus-tracking website. - Although he had not worked extensively with web development since 2015, he used Figma as a bridge between design and implementation. ## Problems with Existing Design-to-Code Tools Bernardo found that existing plugins were limited because they were: - Too slow - Dependent on too many steps - Paywalled for full functionality - Incomplete in their support for Figma’s API - Missing important capabilities such as auto layout - Restricted to a single programming language or framework - Weak at handling responsive design and accessibility He spent two months building his own plugin, which launched in July 2020. ## Using the Grant to Modernize the Plugin - Figma and web frameworks evolved significantly after the plugin’s release, but the plugin had fallen behind. - Earlier limitations included: - Only horizontal and vertical padding - Auto layout support limited to “min” and “fixed” - The Creator Fund gave Bernardo the resources to update the plugin without introducing a paid tier. - The grant also enabled him to add support for Figma’s Dev Mode. - He completed the major update in roughly a month and launched it during Config 2023. - Bernardo describes the fund committee as supportive and encouraging toward creators with ambitious ideas. The post’s supplied excerpt ends during Bernardo’s account of launching the update at Config 2023, before the other Creator Fund projects are presented.

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figmaAug 21, 2023

Dev Mode fast follows: 200+ new features and fixes | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

After two months of open beta, Figma released more than 200 Dev Mode features, improvements, and bug fixes based on over 5,000 pieces of community feedback. The updates improve design inspection, component workflows, code generation, file navigation, and integration with developer tools. Together, they make Dev Mode more practical for translating designs into implementation-ready code. ## New Dev Mode capabilities - Status labels can now be added to components, instances, and frames—not just sections—to indicate development readiness. - Layout grids, rulers, and outline mode are available through the View menu and familiar Design Mode shortcuts. - Detached components can be compared with their main components to identify differences. - Android XML and iOS UIKit have been restored as code-generation options. - The Inspect panel now supports the `UIColor` format. - Version history allows users to inspect previous design iterations. ## Usability and performance improvements - Components from external libraries display the library name. - Nested component properties and component modes, such as light and dark themes, are available in the component playground. - `rem` units can be applied specifically to text while other properties remain in pixels. - Multiple canvas objects can be selected and exported together using Shift-click. - Figma files and notifications can surface in VS Code through Figma’s VS Code integration. - Typography previews expose style name, font size, and line height, which can be copied directly. - Individual text portions can be inspected on the canvas. - The Layers panel can be resized vertically. - Figma suggests matching design-system variables when raw values resemble existing variables. - Values can be inspected as Figma properties as well as code snippets. - Source files such as images can be downloaded. - Alternative unit preferences are easier to find. - Section-level links are grouped by frame. ## Code-generation updates - Holding Shift copies all available code snippets at once. - CSS generation supports directional properties such as `padding-top` and `padding-left` when only one padding value is defined. - Snippets consistently include `font-style`, `line-height`, and `font-weight`. - Line height is shown in both percentage and pixel formats. - CSS codegen supports OpenType features including `font-feature-settings`, `font-variant-numeric`, and `font-kerning`. - Variables can be used for auto-layout constraints such as minimum and maximum dimensions and vertical gaps in wrapping layouts. - Text layers containing multiple styles generate separate CSS for each style. - The Figma Community now offers nearly 80 code-generation plugins, including tools for Tailwind, React, and Vue. ## Bug fixes and navigation - Users can switch between Design Mode and Dev Mode with tab navigation. - Alternative units now display correctly in hints and tooltips. - The release also includes additional fixes, including smoother handling of gradients in text. Figma’s fast-follow release shows that Dev Mode is being shaped around developer feedback. Teams using it should revisit their workflows and integrations to take advantage of improved inspection, code export, component exploration, and VS Code support.

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