Typography/Size Variables: Styles don't respect applied mode for variables

Yes!! Having the same issue and came here to see if others were experiencing it. The only workaround we’ve found so far is to just add a description to the text styles with the other mode values, but it’s definitely not great.

Ahhh thank you, I didn’t think about using the description!

I’ll use this as a workaround for now but it’s definitely frustrating that the values do not ripple down correctly when the mode has been selected. It makes it extremely difficult for those consuming the system to really use it correctly.

Hoping to bump this thread as it’s quite frustrating and feels like a pretty big oversight.

Hey All, so sorry for the trouble and delayed reply!

This is already on our team’s radar for improvement. Right now, this is expected behavior. The styles picker does not reflect modes for typography variables. The team plans to implement changes to make this less confusing.

Hello,

when creating font variables with modes (e.g. device mode for desktop, tablet and mobile) and applying those variables to font styles, the preview of the font size is wrong. It always shows the size defined in the default mode. However the used size in the frame is correct, but it is super distracting that Figma shows the wrong font size …

Anyone experiencing the same issue? Is this a know bug?

The attached file shows example for multi dimensional modes or single modes. The issue happens in both cases (our initial assumption was the multi dimensional modes).

Figma shows wrong font variable preview.fig (563.4 KB)

Cheers & Thx
Harald

Hello,
i found an old post from June that addresses the same problem.

In the meantime I found out this problem is not just related to font styles. It is a problem in all styles (e.g. effects). The preview always shows the default variable mode value, but never the actually used one.

Hello,

are there any updates on this? We are facing the same issue.
It is super misleading if the wrong values are shown to designers using a design system.

See also
https://forum.figma.com/t/font-style-using-variables-with-modes-shows-wrong-value-in-style-preview/87107/4

BR & Thx
Harald

Hey Harald, I haven’t heard anything back yet but it still persistent in the older version of Figma (I haven’t got the new UI yet). I’ve been using the above method and including the values in the description to at least tide us over until there is a fix. I am hoping that it won’t be too much longer though.

Hello,

it’s definitely NOT solved in the new UI.

Harald

Hello.
We also had feedback from our design system community about this bug. It’s super irritating when you work with different devices or densities.
Please fix it soon!
Thanks

Hey team, when can we expect a solution to this? This is super important as I’m working on a bi-lingual interface and this is super important.

Hey, running trough the same issue at the moment. Is there any update on this? cc @dvaliao

Hey!
Any news regarding this issue? It is already 6 mnths passed but the problem still exists.
Is there any workaround at this moment from Figma team?

The issue still remains very much unsolved.

It’s been 8 months since it has been on the “team’s radar”. Seeing how variables and styles are an integral part of software, I’m really hoping to hear an update on this soon.

Cheers.

Is there any update on this? 

I am wondering how Figma can say variables are out of beta (aka production ready), but at the same time important things are missing:

• Wrong variable preview
• No library swapping support

Why is the ticket marked as “solved”?

Sorry for the confusion, ​@hummh! 

My reply was marked as the best answer since it’s the only one so far with direct buy in from our Typography team.

While I wish I had an actual update to share, this is not high priority on the team’s current pipeline. It is on the team’s radar to improve in the future, but there is no specific timeline we can share on when/if variable preview will be rebuilt to include modes for typography variables or library swapping support. 

That’s what is wrong with Figma, while customers are paying a lot of money Figma focusses on all the wrong items it seems.  All of these things are base functionalities for design systems and instead of putting focus on a new UI, Figma should focus on those base functionalities again.  For example we have designers in our company which use our central design system but they keep seeing the values from the default mode instead of the selected one.  One of the reasons why designers need to invest time in plugins like tokens studio because Figma seems to forget what Figma was built for!!! Nowadays we need so much workarounds in Figma, design systems should be their core focus!  We don’t care how styles and variables where built and that it’s difficult to fix, just make base functionality work!