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How to clear “Used variables” that don’t exist in the file anymore?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
August 25, 2023
102 replies
14113 views

Hi folks!

I used some components from other files in my project, and even though I removed them, I still see some Variables available in the “Page → Modes”. They are not available anywhere else. It doesn’t affect the project; when I select one, change the page, and then return to it, that mode is selected.

I checked my file, and nothing leads to the other file anymore – no styles, variables, components, etc.

It seems like a bug, and I see some variables pulled from another file, but can I remove it somehow?

Ask the community

Best answer by djv

Hey All, sorry for the continued trouble and frustration!

If the Detach deleted variables quick command does not work, the remaining ghost variables you’re seeing are still present because they’re still actively being used from collections within your design components and/or deleted color styles.

Be sure to review your file for variables that are being used across multiple pages. We understand how this can be confusing, especially when you have multiple collections with similar names and modes, making it difficult to differentiate between them.

Unfortunately, the team confirmed that we don’t have an automatic solution to fix this or a simple way to view which variables come from what collections. But in order to completely remove ghost variables, you’ll need to manually remove all instances of those variables from your file.

If you need help locating old variables that are still being referenced in nodes on the canvas and are able to share your file with us, please do so here: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Be sure to use your Figma account email, include a link to the file, share edit access with support-share@figma.com, and our Technical Quality team can help you locate and remove the old variables.

Show previous replies

djv

Community Support

Thanks for your feedback, @Dustin_Miller1!

We’re moving your idea to its own topic as a feature request, and we’ll pass this onto our Variables team for future consideration!

I

Issy_Raine

Hello! I’m having serious issues with not being able to get rid of old/ghost variables (variable modes that have been deleted). Figma has been extremely silent about this but it seems to be a massive issue.

We have tried everything previously suggested on forums but these variables modes that are now deleted will not disappear.

Please can someone provide some clarity or help with this?! Driving me mad!

ksn

Community Support

Hey @Issy_Raine! We‌ reported this as an issue with our engineering team a short while back.

We asked for an update, and they’re working to get a fix/update out that applies to this issue. I don’t have an exact date at the moment, but can confidently say this is being addressed internally (and actively).

Sorry I don’t have an alternative solution or workaround at the moment, but I wanted to make sure you were acknowledged with an update.

Oliver_Schwaiger

New Participant

Any progress here @ksn ? I am also having troubles with this.
How would I be able to identify where the ghost variable is applied?
Leads to sleepless night already 😅

H

HNG.Design

I have the same problem!

I worked many hours on my file to get something clean and now, just by copying a few components from an old one, my world has collapsed lol. Thanks to the dev team for the future update, right now I’m in extreme frustration mode.

If there was just the possibility, with an “-” icon, to delete the ghost variables and have them recover their initial property, that would be awesome.

Thanks in advance 😉

I

Issy_Raine

We had a call with a Figma engineer. There is no way to get rid of the ghost variables other than getting Figma support to manually remove them for you apparently?! They also admitted that there’s a lot of bugs. IDK about you guys but we’re really struggling with modes and variables…

ksn

Community Support

Hey all! I know there’s an update that should address this, but I don’t know when exactly it’s going to roll out. If I get an update from engineering, I’ll add it here.