File thumbnail doesn't render content when cover frame is a component instance

Question

Figma Desktop App 126.9.11 (macOS, Apple Silicon), updated this morning.

What's happening:

I use a cover page in each product file and set the cover frame as the file thumbnail. The cover is an instance of a component from our shared library, so updating the main component updates the cover in every file.

When the thumbnail frame is a component instance, the elements inside it don't render in the file thumbnail. The file browser shows only the background glow; the logo, title, description and icons are missing.

If I right-click the instance and choose Detach instance, the elements come back and the thumbnail renders correctly.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Create a cover component in a library file and publish it.

2. In another file, place an instance of the cover on the Cover page.

3. Set that frame as the file thumbnail.

4. Look at the file in the file browser: the thumbnail is missing most of the content.

5. Detach the instance: the thumbnail renders correctly.

Expected: Thumbnails render component instances the same way they render detached frames.

Impact: I keep covers as components so one update changes them in all our product files. Detaching breaks that workflow, and leaving them as instances makes our library look broken in the file browser.

Screenshots attached: the cover components rendering correctly on the canvas, a cover instance in a product file next to its broken thumbnail preview, the file browser showing the broken thumbnails (the Branding, DispatchOS 2.0 and Icons covers are detached and render fine), and my app version.

adamsmasher · Accepted Answer

Hey ​@Con.Clawson. Thanks for the detailed steps! I can see why detaching would disrupt your shared-cover workflow.When I tried this, I didn’t see the thumbnail option on an instance from another library. When I wrapped the component in a frame, I was able to set that parent frame as a thumbnail and it showed the contents correctly.Could you also try placing the linked instance inside a regular frame and setting that outer frame as the thumbnail? This keeps the instance connected to your library, and you could make the frame the same size as the component so there isn’t extra space.One other question - has the library file been published recently? If you continue to have trouble, try making a small, invisible change to the component and them publishing again.

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