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Question

Underline colour variable in Selection colors shows an incomplete variable list on swap

  • July 24, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 15 views
Toby Burkill

Environment

  • Figma Desktop App version 126.6.14
  • macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 (25F84)

Summary
When a text layer uses two colour variables (one bound to the text fill, one bound to the underline colour via Type Settings), clicking the underline colour in the Selection colors panel opens the variable picker with an incomplete list. Variables that should be valid options are missing. The same underline colour can be swapped correctly when accessed directly through Type Settings, so the problem appears to be in how Selection colors resolves the list of swappable variables for an underline binding.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Create two colour variables that are scoped to allow use on text.
  2. Create a text layer and bind the text fill to the first variable.
  3. In Type Settings, apply an underline and bind the underline colour to the second variable.
  4. Select the text layer. Both variables appear in the Selection colors section at the bottom of the right panel.
  5. Click the underline colour variable in Selection colors to swap it.

Expected result
The variable picker lists all variables valid for that binding (same set shown when swapping the underline colour directly in Type Settings).

Actual result
The picker opens and shows some variables, but not all of them. Variables that are correctly scoped for text (and that do appear when swapping via Type Settings) are missing from the list.

Key observation / workaround
Swapping the underline colour directly in Type Settings works correctly and shows the full, expected variable list. Only the swap via Selection colors is affected. The text fill variable swaps correctly from Selection colors, so the issue is specific to the underline colour binding in that panel.

Scoping ruled out
The variables involved are scoped to allow text usage. This was verified by successfully applying and swapping them through Type Settings, so incorrect variable scoping is not the cause.

Troubleshooting already done
Quit and relaunched Figma, cleared cache, and completed the other standard steps Figma recommends before reporting. The issue persists.

Frequency
Consistent and reproducible in the affected file.

3 replies

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey hey ​@Toby Burkill 👋 Thanks for the really thorough writeup. 

I have a few questions to help us dig in:

  • could you confirm whether you've seen this in a brand-new file too, or only in this specific file?
  • If you spin up a fresh file with two text-scoped color variables and repeat the steps, does the Selection colors underline picker still come up short compared to Type Settings?

That one detail can tell us more about where the issue lives.

Other general questions:

A couple of other things that would help:

  • Roughly how many variables show up in the Selection colors underline picker versus the Type Settings picker? An actual count of what's missing helps confirm it's a filtering difference and not a mode/collection visibility thing.
  • Are the two variables in the same collection and mode, or different ones?

If it does repro in a new file, a quick screen recording showing both pickers side by side (Type Settings list, then Selection colors list) would be perfect to attach.

Thanks again for flagging this! — Jaycee

Toby Burkill
  • Toby Burkill
  • Author
  • New Member
  • July 31, 2026

Hi ​@Jaycee Lewis - no problem, although I admit Claude helped write it up after I was using it to try debug it 😅

 

So I’ve just created a brand new file with 3 variable sets, all in the same collection and mode. Body copy and underline variables scopes set to text only. Other colors full scope group set to all properties in scope. 
 

 

Same issue - the only variables that appear in the selection colors list are the one in use plus other full scope variables, no text only scope. 

 

 

All relevant text only scope variables only appear when editing in the underline type settings 

 

 

Additionally, I noticed the copy and underline variables only show up in the Selection colours when the text layer is in a frame or a group. 


I’ve attached a screen recording of the whole test too.
 

Hope that helps, let me know if I help any further. 

Toby

 

 

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey hey ​@Toby Burkill 👋 I opened a support ticket for this. I added a recap, your artifacts ( .mov and screens), and added a few requests to help support. The ticket ID is 2044693 and the subject line is Selection colors picker omits text-only scoped variables when swapping an underline color binding. Keep you eye in your email inbox for that email and any replies from our team. Thanks! — Jaycee

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