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Question

Relinking my variables collection to a copy of my primitives collection

  • April 30, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 7 views
Thomas_Cramer

Hi

I have a pretty large design file. In that file I have a substantial amount of variables. They all link (aliased) to variables in another file where my primitives are placed.

What I would like to achieve is to be able to copy my Design file and copy my Primitives file. I Then need the variable collection in my COPY-Design file to be relinked to my new primitive file called COPY-Primitives.

I know how to use plugins for importing collections and relinking variables on components that way. But I cannot seem to find a way or a plugin where I can relink my entire variable collection to a copy of my primitives. At least not automatically. 

Any way I can accomplish relinking my variable collection to my new copy of my primitives without going through plus severeal hundred variables manually?

Thanks.

1 reply

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey, ​@Thomas_Cramer 👋 Thanks for reaching out! This is a great question, and we definitely want to save you from that manual work.

The first thing we should look at is Swap Library. It's designed for exactly this — it relinks an entire variable collection by matching names. 50 or 500, it's the same operation. And it can be a bit picky about how files are set up. 

To make sure it works for your specific flow, I have a few quick questions:

  • Are your libraries published? For Swap Library to see them, both your original Primitives and the new COPY-Primitives file need to be published to your team or organization
  • Where do the variables live? In your Design file, are those variables local and just aliased to the library, or are you using them directly from the library? This helps us determine if swapping is the right path
  • Are the names identical? Variables by their name and group path like brand/color/primary Do the names match exactly between the two files?

Thanks for the additional details. And if you’ve already ruled out this approach, that’s great info to know too 😊
– Jaycee

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