Typography variable controls not showing

Hey all,

I’m trying to apply typography variables to my library files, but not all the typography controls are showing, e.g. variable icon for font family not showing etc.

In a completely new design file, the controls are there, but I don’t know why they’re not appearing in my libraries. I’ve closed the file and restarted Figma multiple times now. Anyone experience the same thing?

Cheers!

Hi there! This looks odd.
Can you confirm if you’re seeing this issue in the desktop app only or browser as well?
If you’re seeing this issue in the desktop app, can you try clearing the desktop app cache?

Mac:
You can clear the desktop app cache on a Mac in the Help menu under Troubleshooting. If you’d prefer to manually clear your cache you can:

  1. Quit the Figma desktop app
  2. Open Terminal.app and enter the following command: rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Figma"
  3. Try opening the desktop app again

Windows:
You can clear the desktop app cache on Windows under the toggle-arrow at the right of the top toolbar under Help > Troubleshooting. If you’d prefer to manually clear your cache you can:

  1. Close the Figma desktop app
  2. Open the Start menu, and paste in this, followed by enter: %APPDATA%\Figma
  3. In the window that opens, delete the Desktop and DesktopProfile folders if they exist
  4. Launch the desktop app again

If this doesn’t help, please reach out directly to the support team for help here:
https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Be sure to use your Figma account email, include a screenshot, links to the file, and share it with support-share@figma.com as an Editor so they can take a closer look.

@Celine_Figma Unfortunately this happens in both web and desktop app. I’ve tried clearing the cache but issue still persists. I’ve noticed it’s random, as some older design files will show the controls whereas others will not - so it is not just limited to my libraries.

For anyone that is experiencing the same issue, I have solved it. For all the variable controls to show you need the corresponding variable types to be present in your variable collection. E.g. Font family didn’t show because I did not have any string variables set up in my libraries.

I think instead of hiding the variable controls, it should be disabled with a corresponding tooltip stating the requirements needed to turn the control on.

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Hey @Henry_N , thanks for letting us know. Glad to hear you’ve found a fix!

hi Henry, I am having the same issue, but I am not sure if I understood your solution, can you please elaborate? Really appreciate the help!

1 Like