Copy properties (opt + cmd + C) on a layer with variables gives only HEX codes when pasting

Hi @Alice_Holm this is currently the expected behavior with Copy/paste properties.

It just seemed logic to me that the variables also would copy over. Hope you will consider it for future improvements 🙂

This is not the expected behavior for me. I use the cmd+option+c/v shortcut to copy styles, which is a major time-saving step in my workflow. I really hope the Figma team considers using the same shortcut to copy variables from one layer to the next too

I agree very much 🥲
The variable function was quickly introduced, but it became difficult to actively recommend the use.
For designers, the cmd+option+c/v function is really big.

Agreed — this is a huge deal for anyone trying to ensure system variables (and/or styles) are used in all designs. If we can’t easily copy and apply variables to many layers, variables are MUCH less likely to be used by the team. And that defeats the purpose — we can’t do any of the cool mode-switching etc without having them applied everywhere.

I agree with everyone here. This is not the expected behavior. I want to be able to copy/paste color variables.

+1… This can’t be the expected behavior for a user…

Can the team provide some context as to why this is the intended behavior? Are there recommendations on how to work with variables and styles together?

Thank you everyone for your feedback, I have passed these points along to our engineering team.

Thanks @Ryan_52 echoing what everyone is saying, this is definitely not expected behavior from the user side. Variables are a property like styles are too.

Just a couple other comments on this:

• Copy/paste of properties should include other variables as well, not just color (e.g. autolayout spacing, radius, etc).
• As a temporary workaround, I’ve defined color styles using variables. This way we can copy/paste layer colors and the variables are included in that. It’s not ideal, but it works — I’ve had to un-share our variable colors and instead share styles using those variables with my team, so we don’t all have a ton of duplicate colors in the menu.

I thought them not being copied over properly was a bug and not the intended way it should work. I realized after a day that they are not working as I expected and I had to change all the hex values back to variables. For me it was the most logical behavior.

An option in the settings to toggle this would be enough I guess.

This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.