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Published Variable Adjustment - Editing Non-Local Variables

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
August 31, 2023
32 replies
2612 views

Can I edit the variables defined in a published library locally?

There is a library file (Say File A) with a collection of local variables defining some string and numbers shown on a component. The component is published (with all variables too)
I added this component to another file, say File B, but when I want to edit those strings and numbers locally in this File B, I can no longer see the these variables, nor editing them.
Seems like I can only edit the published component in the library File A (if I have edit access) and this will change all the instances too.

Can I instead edit it locally, meaning edit the values of these publish variables only in File B?

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Pieterdekroon

New Member

Would love too see this as a new feature! 😍 I’m in the same situation as @Corey_O_Brien, build my own design system that I would like to use in different project/clients that have different color variables.

Chris_Ferejohn

New Participant

Yes please. This would be great.

Ivan_Les

Just dropping in to say that this would be an awesome feature! I’m in literally the same situation as the OP and a feature to have a non-destructible, but locally editable and manageble library of variables would be a life saver

S

synapses_be

Same situation here. Would be awesome if it gets implemented !

Corey_O_Brien

Active Member

Still no update on this. Variables are a lot less useful without being able to adjust them locally when using a design system.

Markus_Essing

This would be super helpful! Using multiple modes doesn’t really work, as we have a lot of different clients.

Moritz Rohner

New Member

As a way to circumvent this problem I came up with the following three-part solution for our team:

We are using a template file which will be imported into our team everytime we start working on a new project/client. This template file contains our agreed upon pages structure and a mirrored version of our design system color variables
We update the core variables responsible for the clients primary/secondary color according to their CD in our new file
We run the "Swap to Local Color Variables"-Plugin from Andrei Alikimovich anytime we import an asset from our design system so the connection gets updated

Although it’s not perfect and a solution from Figma itself would be greatly appreciated, I hope that this still helps some of you struggling to find the right solution for their company.

Paulo Garcia

New Member

This would be an absolute gamechanger! I’m working on a robust design system for a massive, multi-brand, multi-geo company with seasonal campaigns and specific messaging needs and we plug in to multiple libraries to make the work happen. The ability to reference preset variables housed in a source file, and be able to edit them locally would make everything so much more efficient and consistent. Please Figma, I’m begging you, bring this into your next release.