Copy-pasting design across two Figma instances on multiple monitors results in missing elements

Hey @Muskan Shakya 👋 Thanks for the detailed report and screenshots, that helps a lot.

Two things to isolate:

• First, is it the second app window or the second monitor? Could you open both Figma Desktop windows on the same monitor and run the identical copy-paste? If it still drops layers and detaches components, we've ruled out the monitor
• Second, the components that are coming through detached or empty, are they from a published library, or are they local to the source file? Paste behavior across separate file contexts can differ depending on publish state, so knowing this helps narrow it down

A short screen recording of it happening live would be really valuable if we escalate. Thanks again! – Jaycee

Hi ​@Jaycee Lewis,

I have managed to capture the issue live. Here are the findings based on the points you asked me to isolate:

• Window vs. Monitor: I tested moving both Figma windows to the same monitor while the issue was occurring. The paste failure persisted, which confirms that the issue is specific to the interaction between two separate app instances/windows, not the monitor configuration.

• Component Context: The components I was attempting to paste are indeed from a published design system library. Even though the library is active in both files, the layers arrive completely empty or missing in the destination file's Layers panel when using two windows.

I have attached a screen recording of the failure happening live for your team to review. Please let me know if you need any additional diagnostic info or logs from my machine to help get this resolved.

Thanks again for the help!

Hey ​@Muskan Shakya 👋 Thank you so much! I opened a ticket for us (ID 1975460) The subject line is — Copy-paste between two separate Figma Desktop instances drops layers and detaches published-library components — Windows 11, Desktop 126.5.6 Please keep an eye on your email inbox for any replies or follow up questions. I added a few additional requests that can help support with your case. Thanks again! — Jaycee 

Same problem here. in the same monitor, just copy paste for different file in figma. missing instance.

any update for this problem?

Hey ​@Muskan Shakya 👋 I see one of Technical Quality experts responded to the support ticket I opened. They had a few additional steps for you to try so they can work on narrowing down the root cause. Please check your email inbox and the spam folder. The support ticket ID is 1975460 and the subject line is — Copy-paste between two separate Figma Desktop instances drops layers and detaches published-library components — Windows 11, Desktop 126.5.6. 

Hey ​@Zainal Muttaqin thanks for adding your experience to the post. I have a question and next step we can try to help narrow down things:

• Question — The components that are coming through detached or empty, are they from a published library, or are they local to the source file? Paste behavior across separate file contexts can differ depending on publish state, so knowing this helps narrow it down
• Next Step — If there are no warnings on the variant set, or this is a single component, can you try making a 'silent' change to the components or all of the components in the variant set and then publishing and accepting the update? To do this, select the component, or all of the components in the set (not the top-level set itself) and make a minor change like adding or editing a description and then publish and accept the update

If neither work, I have two more steps to try before we pivot to support. Talk soon! — Jaycee

Hey ​@Jaycee Lewis .
 

Hey ​@Zainal Muttaqin 👋 Thanks for your continued help. These transitory issues can be frustraing and a challenge to reproduce. 

Here’s the follow-up troubleshooting steps I had for us:

• In the file where the instance does not appear or function as expected, can you select it and use the Quick actions tool 'Repair component connections' and then refresh the file and try adding a new instance? Quick Actions can be accessed using Command on Mac OR Control on Windows + /. 
• If that doesn't help either, could you try running the "Regenerate all instances (slow)" Quick Actions command? 

Thanks! — Jaycee

Hey ​@Jaycee Lewis .

Here's one example of the issue.

This component becomes blank after pasted in Staging Files, even though the Table Cell should contain text. In the right sidebar, Figma doesn't recognize it as an instance anymore—it shows it as Removed instead.

Because of that, there isn't any Resolve Component option or any way to relink it to the original component.

Also, when I try using Swap Component, nothing happens. The component stays exactly the same and remains in the Removed state.

Hey Zainal 👋

Thanks for the example — that's really helpful, and it confirms this isn't the same issue as the original report on this thread (that one was about elements dropping during cross-monitor copy; what you're seeing is nested component instances losing their reference entirely and showing as "Removed").

Since digging into this will need file access, I've moved this to a support ticket, TICKET ID 1995350, and the subject line is Nested component instances show as "Removed" after copying between files. Keep an eye on your email for the follow-up.

Thanks for your patience on this one! — Jaycee

I really appreciate you looking into this.

One quick question. Could you also share the support ticket link? It's a bit difficult for me to keep track of tickets using only the ID from email, so having the direct link would be really helpful.

Thanks, ​@Jaycee Lewis !

Hi ​@Zainal Muttaqin, Celyn here stepping in for ​@Jaycee Lewis.

You can access your support ticket here: https://help.figma.com/hc/requests/1995350

I hope this helps! Let me know if you're able to access the ticket using this link, or if you run into any issues.