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Moving File to Drafts Temporarily — Will Component & Prototype Links Be Retained?

  • June 1, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 37 views
rachel37

Due to a billing issue, my Figma team is currently locked. While waiting for the issue to be resolved, I still need to continue working on my files.

I’m planning to move my file to Drafts temporarily so I can keep working on it. I would like to confirm:

  • When I move the file back from Drafts to a Project later, will it retain the component links to my design system file?
  • Will prototype links and connections also remain intact?
  • will there be other issues? (unforseen)

Thanks

Best answer by Gayani_S

Hey ​@rachel37, thanks for reaching out! 

Moving a file to your team's Drafts and back won't break your component or prototype connections, but there are a few things worth knowing before you do it.

The instances in your file stay linked to the published library they came from, that link is tied to the library file itself, not the project location of your working file. So moving your file to Drafts and back won't break those connections. That said, there's one nuance: from your draft files, you can access style and component libraries from any teams you're a member of, but you'll need to make sure libraries are enabled for your Drafts.

You can do this from Account Settings → Library → Enable Libraries for all files in your Drafts. Find more info here: Enable access to libraries in your drafts
 

Prototype connections live inside the file itself. They're not affected by where the file is stored. Moving to Drafts and back won't touch them.

 

A couple of things worth being aware of:

  • Files in Figma are organized into projects, and each project has its own set of permissions, so moving a file may change who has access to it. When you move back to your project, double-check that your collaborators still have the right access levels. 
  • If the file you're moving is itself a library file (i.e. it's published), it will need to be in a project, not Drafts, to be published. If your design system file is the one you're moving, keep this in mind.
  • Moving the file won't affect your version history, comments, or share links.

For some useful background on how Drafts work now, this Help Center article covers the current setup well: Updates to how drafts work. And when you're ready to move back, Move a file walks you through the steps.

 

Hope that helps you keep the work flowing while your billing gets sorted! Let me know if anything comes up once you've made the move, happy to help further! 

1 reply

Gayani_S
Figmate
  • Gayani_S
  • Community Support
  • Answer
  • June 1, 2026

Hey ​@rachel37, thanks for reaching out! 

Moving a file to your team's Drafts and back won't break your component or prototype connections, but there are a few things worth knowing before you do it.

The instances in your file stay linked to the published library they came from, that link is tied to the library file itself, not the project location of your working file. So moving your file to Drafts and back won't break those connections. That said, there's one nuance: from your draft files, you can access style and component libraries from any teams you're a member of, but you'll need to make sure libraries are enabled for your Drafts.

You can do this from Account Settings → Library → Enable Libraries for all files in your Drafts. Find more info here: Enable access to libraries in your drafts
 

Prototype connections live inside the file itself. They're not affected by where the file is stored. Moving to Drafts and back won't touch them.

 

A couple of things worth being aware of:

  • Files in Figma are organized into projects, and each project has its own set of permissions, so moving a file may change who has access to it. When you move back to your project, double-check that your collaborators still have the right access levels. 
  • If the file you're moving is itself a library file (i.e. it's published), it will need to be in a project, not Drafts, to be published. If your design system file is the one you're moving, keep this in mind.
  • Moving the file won't affect your version history, comments, or share links.

For some useful background on how Drafts work now, this Help Center article covers the current setup well: Updates to how drafts work. And when you're ready to move back, Move a file walks you through the steps.

 

Hope that helps you keep the work flowing while your billing gets sorted! Let me know if anything comes up once you've made the move, happy to help further! 

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