I’m working with Figma Variables and trying to understand how variable references behave across collections and modes.
I currently have two variable collections:
- Tier 2 (semantic tokens)
- Tier 3 (component-specific tokens)
Both collections have two variable modes/themes:
- Mode 1 (default)
- Mode 2
Here’s my issue:
Inside the Tier 3 collection, I want to reference a variable from the Tier 2 collection — but specifically the value from Mode 2, not the default mode.
However, when I create a reference in Tier 3 to a Tier 2 variable, Figma seems to only reference/show the default mode value from Tier 2.
My questions are:
- Is it possible to explicitly reference a specific mode from another collection?
- If mode-to-mode mapping is required, what is the correct setup to ensure Tier 3 Mode 2 pulls from Tier 2 Mode 2?