My Figma wish-list

1. Something equivalent to <span>
2. Units of measurement beyond pixels. We're getting close with auto layout's "grid" option (Figma's answer to CSS grid), because that gives us fr units. In a pinch we can use these to mimic percentages, though its not the real deal. The following measurement types would really super-charge what we can build:
   • % Percentages
   • ch Character width
   • rem REMs
   • em EMs
   • lh Line height
   • vw, and vh Viewport width and viewport height—these would be really tricky... Figma would maybe have to introduce a new type of frame, or allow us to designate a frame as the "viewport" and not just a div.
3. Ability to apply a variable, perhaps a string variable, to more auto layout attributes.
   • Alignment (eg top-left, center-center, etc)
   • Resizing rules (eg fixed, hug, fill)
   • Layout (eg horizontal, horizontal with wrapping, vertical, grid)
4. Reversing the stacking order in an auto layout frame. I know we can already do this in terms of z-index with "first on top" and "last on top", but I want it for how items wrap when their parent container becomes too narrow.
5. Ability to turn off "auto layout setting guessing." This has gotten better, but at some point in time Figma tried to guess what auto layout configuration I wanted, and often would guess incorrectly. The intention behind this feature was good—save users time by pre-configuring some settings when they apply auto layout to an object. But that's only useful if the program gets the settings right. When it gets it wrong, it creates more work for the user to correct things. Quite annoying!
6. Ability to set default values whenever auto layout is applied to a frame. I'd love for things to always run vertically, be top-left, and use variables from our design system. Or, at the very least, raw 0s. No more raw 10px values for the gap and padding.
7. Descriptions for all types of properties. Not just slots. This will be big for AI-readability, and giving designers more in-context documentation.
8. All assets in the publication panel should be unselected by default.
9. The publication panel should be a full-screen experience.
10. Make publication notes a rich-text field, with the ability to format text with bold, italics, lists, and insert things like headings and hyperlinks.
11. Expose library publication actions as endpoints in their API.
12. Ability to upload markdown files to component and slot descriptions.
13. Ability to attach multiple links to a component, similar to "dev resources" in Dev Mode.
14. Moving variables between collections.
15. Property name inspection and bulk-renaming... "show me every component with a "state" property, no matter the casing... "
16. Applying color variables to the page color fill.
17. Ability to apply the "grid" auto layout type directly to slots.
18. Ability to freely re-order properties as desired, regardless of property type (intermixing variant properties among properties tied to layers, such as string properties).
19. Decoupling "default variant" from its X and Y coordinates in the component set. Instead, let the user elect which variant is the default.
20. Expand the number of scopes for a Library publication, namely, publishing only so certain files can accept the publication. Useful so a design system team can publish, say, a Variables library to get updates into a component library downstream, without releasing the same Variables publication to consumers.

I'd like to shout out Leo Vogel and his website https://bookofgrievances.com/, which is what this blog post was inspired by! Squeaky wheels get the grease. I hope more folks who love and enjoy the software they use on the regular pipe up about their hopes and dreams for features and fixes. If you're feeling inspired, here's some ways you can be a squeaky wheel too:

• Write your own "wish list" on whatever platform you're already comfortable publishing on
• Create a feature suggestion in Figma's community forum
• Prototype your dream feature, publish it in Figma's community and professional social platforms where other designers hang out
• Write Figma's product team a letter. Address it to their current CPO, and send mail to 760 Market St, Floor 10, San Francisco, CA 94102, United States

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