Hi everyone 👋
I'm a daily Figma user and really appreciate how flexible and powerful Auto Layout has become.
That said, there are still a few small but recurring pain points in my workflow that I believe many other users may also be experiencing — especially when it comes to Auto Layout default settings.
Currently, certain Auto Layout options like Exclude strokes and Canvas stacking are always turned on or off by default. While this might suit some use cases, it can feel counterintuitive or inefficient in others.
1. Exclude strokes — A repeated manual step that can lead to dev/design misalignment
Every time I apply Auto Layout, I find myself manually disabling "Include strokes."
In web development environments, it's common to build layouts using border for visual separation — not stroke.
Because of this, including strokes in padding calculations can often result in misaligned spacing between design and front-end implementation.
If designers could set "Exclude strokes" as a default, it would help reduce friction between design and development, and avoid unnecessary corrections later in the process.
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In web workflows, borders are more commonly used than strokes for spacing/layout
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Padding usually follows the border edge, not stroke edge
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Flutter and native mobile platforms also typically use border-based layout models
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Since preferences may vary depending on platform, letting users define their own default would allow for a more consistent and personalized workflow
2. Canvas stacking — Often works against natural UI layering expectations
By default, Auto Layout uses canvas stacking order, which means newly added frames get layered underneath.
In practice, however, this can create unintuitive behavior — especially for components like dropdowns, menus, or tooltips that are expected to appear on top.
I often run into situations where dropdowns are hidden behind other layers simply because of the stacking direction. This forces me to adjust layer order manually — a small but frequent friction point.
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Most UI patterns involve top-down expanding elements like menus and popovers
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Figma’s default stacking order causes these elements to be hidden beneath other layers
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In HTML/CSS, these issues are addressed with
z-indexto ensure proper visual order -
If users could customize the default stacking behavior, it would reduce layer management overhead in larger files
✅ Suggestion
It would be a great improvement if Figma allowed users to customize default Auto Layout settings — either via preferences or through reusable presets. This would reduce repetitive steps and improve design/development consistency without complicating the core experience.
If anyone else is experiencing similar workflow friction, I’d love to hear your thoughts and use cases.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to the Figma team for continuing to evolve such a powerful tool 🙏