As editor and maybe also as viewer I want to be able to see where specific components are used. So I’m basically talking about way to find instances of a component across files.
There’s a plugin called “Instance Finder” but unfortunately it’s just working within one file not across.
For huge design systems with multiple files and different designers working on it this is far from ideal.
This idea is not new but since the other topics are closed I guess I need to open a new thread.
Describe the problem your experiencing and how your idea helps solve this
I want to be able to find instances of components within my Figma file.
Add as much context as possible (screenshots, Figma files, mockups, etc.)
For a huge design system with multiple designers working on it, I often need to find molecules and all the places they’ve been used (organisms/templates), etc. For a big design system, this becomes very difficult and adds a lot of manual time to sift through the hundreds of components and organisms.
Ask questions to bring the community into the conversation
(e.g. Does anyone else experience this? Is anyone using a plugin or workaround to help solve this?, etc.
There’s already a plugin called “Instance Finder” but it doesn’t work on large design system files.
You’d still have to search page by page but for me this is a HUGE improvement. I am now able to search for an instance on a page and find the instances and move through them, rather than literally looking for instances frame by frame!
I’m still having trouble with this feature. I have ‘Used in this file’ instances that have been removed from the original file. But when using the search feature, the component does not show up. So I’m still not able to find ghost components. I believe it’s also not working for hidden stuff…
are you sure you’re searching in the right page? I had this issue too then I realised the search feature works only on the page level and does not search in the entire file… you’d need to search page by page.
You are wrong. The search function can work on the entire file. To do this, just click the “See results on other pages” item or select “All pages” instead of “This page” in the drop-down menu.
UX/UI designer. Figma expert. Creator and developer of plugins and widgets for Figma and FigJam. Check out my resources in Figma Community: figma.com/@tank
It would be interesting to take a look. Could you share an example file?
UX/UI designer. Figma expert. Creator and developer of plugins and widgets for Figma and FigJam. Check out my resources in Figma Community: figma.com/@tank
