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Question

Nested absolute positioned items don't work as expected

  • April 2, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 14 views

Kerry_Johnson
  1. Add Text
  2. Add Auto layout to Text
  3. Add Rectangle into Auto layout frame
  4. Ignore auto layout on Rectangle
  5. Set Constraints to Top + Bottom or Scale
  6. Enter several lines of text, notice the rectangle grows in size 👍
  7. Duplicate example above
  8. Add Group to Rectangle
  9. Enter several lines of text, notice the rectangle doesn’t grow in size 👎

Note: This is a simplified example; I required an absolute position group in my work to control overall opacity of several layers at once with one Figma variable.

 

I have tried the following:

  • Using frame instead of group
  • Setting constraint to bottom only
  • Flipping Rectangle vertically to maybe trick constraint
  • Keying in 100% to height and entering the height manually
  • Refitting it to 100% height by drag handle
  • Setting to scale constraint
  • Setting nested rectangle to scale constraint and vice versa with group
  • Reopening file

I believe the “Bad” frame below should work like the “Good” frame.

 

1 reply

Kerry_Johnson
  • Author
  • New Participant
  • April 2, 2026

Can’t rename title; should be “Grouped absolute positioned items don't work as expected” for more accuracy.