03. Frames - Figma 101
Understand the difference between frames and groups so you can organize your work like a pro. Frames are powerful containers with properties, grids, and auto layout capabilities, while groups simply cluster existing elements. Learning when to use each one means a cleaner canvas and faster workflow.
In this lesson, we'll take a look at the key differences between frames and groups in Figma. Both can help bring order to your canvas, but frames are way more powerful than groups. Because of that, some people use frames exclusively and don't use groups at all. It's pretty common to create a frame as one of your first design tasks in a new file, and what kind of frame you create is really up to you, depending on what type of project you're designing. So let's say we're designing a little website, and we want to design a desktop-sized frame.
We can go to the toolbar, select the Frame tool, or we can hit the F key. As a side note, I personally never click any of these tool icons in the toolbar as it is a million times faster to memorize and use a handful of the built-in quick keys. They're pretty intuitive, but I'll mention them each time they're used. So hit F, and you can see that the Properties panel has updated to show relevant information related to creating a new frame. We can choose any of these predetermined frame sizes, or we can click and draw our own frame on the canvas.
Frames can be added, removed, changed, and even created from existing design elements at any time. So it's not like a frame is some precious object that can't be modified once it's on your canvas. Frames in Figma are similar to artboards in other design tools. They define a dedicated area that contains additional objects. Frames are unique because they are an entity of their own and have properties, like height, width, layout grids, and more.
But groups cannot exist on their own. They simply combine existing elements into a joint folder. Frames act as containers for your design elements, and you can nest frames within other frames. Also, when you export a frame, the exported image size matches the frame size. Frames also have the capability to automatically distribute objects within them using the Auto Layout feature.
This is particularly useful for creating designs that need to be evenly spaced based on the size of their content, like buttons with text labels or list items. If you're having a little frame anxiety, don't worry. We'll get into all these frame intricacies later in the course. For now, with the Frame tool selected, let's choose Desktop from the Properties panel and choose MacBook Pro 14" because that is the size that I'm currently working on. You can choose anything.
It doesn't really matter. Now you can see MacBook Pro 14 - 1 is now on the canvas, and it's also showing up in our Layers panel. If I wanna rename this frame, there are three ways to do it. I can double-click the name directly on the canvas and type a new name, or I can double-click on the layer name and type a new name. And lastly, one of the most efficient ways, with any frame selected, I can hit the quick key, Command + R, to edit the layer name and hit Return to save.
I can also hit Escape to cancel the renaming. This Command + R renaming trick works for every single object on the Figma canvas, not only frames. It's very handy and definitely worth remembering. I can also create a frame out of existing elements on the canvas. For example, if I have a few words typed out for a potential navigation, I can select them all by drawing a selection around them, right-clicking, and then choosing Frame selection.
Alternatively, I can select them all, hit Command + Option + G, and that will create a new frame with the elements inside. I remember this by remembering how to group items. You can group multiple items by selecting them and hitting Command + G, for group. And if frames are fancy groups, then the shortcut to create a frame is like a fancy shortcut, Command + Option + G. You can also break apart a frame or a group by hitting Command + Shift + G.
So let's talk about groups. They're like the simpler version of frames, and they rely on existing elements. We can think of them as a unified cluster of things. They're fantastic when you're trying to quickly move, organize, or resize multiple elements at once. They just don't have all the bells and whistles that frames have, and unlike frames, groups take on the collective dimensions of their combined elements, and they don't have a predefined size or shape all on their own.
In conclusion, frames and groups are essential organizational tools in Figma. Frames offer way more flexibility, while groups simplify manipulation of multiple elements. Like I said, some people don't even use groups, and that's okay too.
