Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a way to connect individual objects across different frames in a Design File to show UI flows, and I can't find a solution that ticks all these boxes:
- Machine-readable — the connection needs to exist as structured data queryable via the REST API / Plugin API (e.g. a node with
startNodeId/endNodeIdreferences), not just a visual line. - Element-to-element across frames — connecting a specific object inside one frame to a specific object inside a different frame, not just frame-to-frame.
- Visible without Edit access — viewers with view-only access need to see the connections.
- Wrappable as a Component — for reusability with Component Properties (e.g. trigger, condition labels).
- Design Files only — not FigJam, since the connections need to live in the same file as the actual designs.
What I've tried:
- Prototype connections — not visible without Edit access, and hard to query for additional logic.
- Native Connector tool — anchors to top-level frames but not to nested elements across frames, and loses its connector behavior when wrapped into a Component (it "pops out" of the group).
- Custom Component with text properties (e.g.
fromElement/toElement/trigger) — fully machine-readable and works as a Component, but has no native visual line connecting the objects. - FigJam Connectors — live in a separate file, so they go out of sync with the actual designs.
Question: Is there a way to get native Connector-like behavior (auto-anchoring, API-queryable endpoints) that also works for nested elements across frames, stays visible for Viewers, and can be wrapped into a Component — all inside a single Design File?
If this isn't currently possible, I'd like to flag it as a feature request. Happy to hear about any workarounds I might have missed!
Best
Pauline