Using Variable Mode to control nested instances, Disrespects Boolean properties

Hey, ​@Smith_Samuel_D!  Thanks so much for the detailed report and the video demo. That's super helpful for understanding the exact scenario you're running into.

What you're seeing is the expected behavior with how Figma handles nested instance variant bindings. When a variable controls a nested component's variant by switching modes, the overrides don’t carry over to the new variant (including boolean property values). The variant switches as expected, but other properties reset to the component's defaults since those overrides don’t persist with mode change.

At the moment, the most common solution is to restructure your component hierarchy so that the boolean properties you need to control independently aren't dependent on a variable-driven variant switch at the nested level. I know that's not the answer you were hoping for, and I'm sorry this is blocking a workflow that could save you a lot of time. Let me know if you want to brainstorm different ways to structure your components!

Hey ​@adamsmasher, thanks for the reply and clarification! What is the benefit for it working the way it does today? In this particular case, it seems like it will just make more work for someone trying to implement this. Is it something Figma would consider changing, or should I just plan to try to remember this (hidden) rule?

This sounds like a state persistence issue between variant switching and nested boolean properties. It might be that the variable-driven variant change is reinitializing the component instance, which resets internal booleans.

​@Smith_Samuel_D, I’m reaching out internally to see if I can find out any more information that I can share. I’m also checking if there are any other solutions than what I provided already which might work better for you. Thanks again for the feedback!

Hi again, ​@Smith_Samuel_D! After talking with the team, I created a ticket for you with our Technical Quality team so they can take a closer look. You should get an email notification shortly, and I recommend replying to that with a link to the file as well as any other info you want to include. I linked to this thread and your video in the ticket, too. Thanks so much for your patience!

Hi ​@adamsmasher - thanks for following up to OP on this, came here with the same issue. Any chance you could help me with this as well? Resolving this bug would be very helpful for an enterprise DS push we’re working on. Thanks in advance.

Hey, ​@Quinn Patrick 👋 I’m happy to help. We’ll need to gather a few details specific to your case and we can go from there. Thanks! — Jaycee 

Thanks ​@Jaycee Lewis - here’s an overview but let me know if there are other specific details you need.

We are trying to implement breakpoint mode by leveraging a text string variable connection to the components’ breakpoint variant property.

When switching between breakpoint modes, content overrides are being reset to component content defaults. Our goal is to preserve content overrides.

All layer names are matching and tried rebuilding affected components twice but still getting the same result.

Hey, ​@Quinn Patrick 👋 

To get it filed and moving, could you share the following in reply to the ticket email?

• File URL with view access shared to support-share@figma.com
• A short screen recording showing the override resetting when you switch breakpoint modes
• The variable + mode setup: the string variable, its values per mode, and which variant property it's bound to
• An example of one override that's being lost (e.g. text content, instance swap, boolean) and what it resets to
• Whether it reproduces in a fresh file vs. only the affected DS file
• Your platform (desktop app or browser + OS) and app version

If so, I’ll get it opened and add the ticket ID and support ticket subject line here so you can find it in your email. Thanks! — Jaycee

Hi, ​@Quinn Patrick 👋 I opened a support ticket for us. The ID is 1993099. I added the above questions to the support ticket as having those details will help support with your issue. Thanks again. Talk soon! — Jaycee