Auto Layout in Figma: A Comprehensive Guide

What is Auto Layout?

Auto layout is a feature in Figma that allows you to create frames that respond to content or layout size changes. These dynamic components or frames respond to the size of their child objects, making them more flexible and cohesive when used in design systems.

Why is Auto Layout Important?

A layout is defined as the arrangement of single or compound items such as images, text, or components on a screen. Layouts use simple or complex components and spacing to encourage consistency across platforms and screen sizes. A responsive layout allows a frame to change and readapt dynamically based on the screen size, guaranteeing consistency across devices.

How to Use Figma’s Auto Layout

To apply auto layout to a frame or group, select the entire frame, group, or just the multiple elements you want to convert, then click the right button of the mouse or trackpad and select Add Auto Layout on the menu. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Shift + A (valid for Mac and Windows). After applying the auto layout, a new frame will appear, and you can change its name by double-clicking the new frame with your mouse or trackpad.

The Basics of the Frame Menu

A new section named Horizontal and Vertical Resizing will show up after creating the auto layout. This section has two possible variables: Fixed Width and Height, and Hug Contents. Fixed width and height work nicely when you want your frame to expand vertically or horizontally across the canvas, while hug contents work nicely when you want your frame to grow vertically and horizontally depending on the size of its children objects.

.frame {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

Navigating the Auto Layout Menu

The auto layout menu has multiple options, including:

• Remove Auto Layout: Click the minus button to remove auto layout or right-click and press Remove Auto Layout.
• Directions: The arrows will help you select a vertical or horizontal direction of the parent-children inside the frame.
• Spacing between Items: The pixels found between each object or child. Note that the number will always repeat, so you can’t choose different pixels between different children objects.
• Alignment: How the children objects are aligned inside the limited space of the frame. There are nine possible alignment options.
• Padding: The horizontal and vertical space between the children and the frame. We encounter four types of padding — top and bottom padding and right and left padding.

Advanced Auto Layout Menu Options

By clicking the three dots of the auto layout menu, an advanced menu will prompt on top. The first thing you’ll notice is a preview section to show the different stages of your selections. The options include:

• Spacing Mode: There are two options here and packed is the default.
• Strokes: Now you can choose if the strokes are part of the auto layout frame or not.
• Canvas Stacking: While using negative spacing, you now can achieve the stacking effect on your children’s objects.
• Text Baseline Alignment: If you have text on your auto layout frame, select if you want to align it in the center or by its baseline.

Tips and Tricks

Use the Absolute Position option to position children in an absolute positioning inside an auto layout frame.

Control the padding and spacing between items inside the same frame by looking for the little red handles that appear while hovering the frame and dragging them manually.

Hold the Shift key while dragging the handler to increase or decrease the pixels with the pixel number set previously on the auto layout menu.

Press Alt while dragging the handler for padding to increase or decrease both sides of the vertical or horizontal realm equally.

Place objects on top of an auto layout frame by adding the object to the frame and placing it wherever you want, then holding the Spacebar while placing the object on top of the frame.