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    Auto Layout Fundamentals

    By Nitin Khatri (Senior UI/UX Designer & Educator)
    Reviewed by Sarah Miller (Principal Product Designer (Reviewer))
    Updated
    Video Lesson: 08:00
    Level: Beginner
    Official References:
    Figma Help CenterFigma YouTube Channel

    Auto Layout is Figma's most powerful feature for creating dynamic, responsive components. This lesson introduces the basics of vertical and horizontal stacks.

    Complete tasks and quiz to finish this lesson.
    Tasks
    Quiz

    Lesson Video

    Lesson Content

    Learning Objectives

    • •Apply Auto Layout to a selection of elements
    • •Configure direction, gap, and padding within a stack
    • •Understand the difference between Hug Contents and Fixed width/height
    • •Create a basic button that resizes based on label length

    What You'll Learn

    1. Turning elements into an Auto Layout frame
    2. Adjusting horizontal and vertical spacing
    3. Setting up padding for buttons and cards
    4. Understanding basic resizing behaviors

    Key Concepts

    Stacked Layouts
    Inner Padding
    Item Spacing
    Dynamic Resizing

    Key Takeaways

    • ✓Auto Layout allows components to grow or shrink based on content.
    • ✓Direction determines if elements stack vertically or horizontally.
    • ✓Padding adds space inside the frame, while gap adds space between items.
    • ✓Auto Layout is the foundation for building professional UI libraries.

    Practice Tasks

    Dynamic Button Creation

    Build a button using Auto Layout that expands automatically as the text label changes.

    • Create a text layer and apply Auto Layout (Shift+A)
    • Set the horizontal padding to 24px and vertical padding to 12px
    • Add a fill color and corner radius to the Auto Layout frame
    • Change the text content and confirm the button resizes automatically
    • Identify the resizing setting as 'Hug' for both width and height

    Knowledge Check

    Pass with 70% or higher

    1. What is the keyboard shortcut to apply Auto Layout to a selected group of layers?

    2. In an Auto Layout frame, which setting controls the space between nested items?

    3. If an Auto Layout frame is set to 'Hug contents' horizontally, what happens when you add more text to it?

    Lesson FAQ

    Q: How can I practice what I learned in this lesson?

    We highly recommend opening your own Figma workspace in a side window and repeating the steps shown in the video. Utilize the tasks checklist above for specific practice targets.

    Q: What should I do if my layout behaves differently from the walkthrough?

    Double-check parent-child constraints and resizing values (e.g. Hug vs Fill). Ensure Auto Layout direction is correct and check the related guidebooks below for step-by-step visual references.

    Lesson Resources & Connections

    Prerequisites

    No prerequisites required. This is a foundational starter lesson.

    Related Guidebook

    How to create responsive layouts in Figma using Auto Layout

    Read Guidebook →

    How to use Auto Layout for cards and lists in Figma

    Read Guidebook →

    Relevant Design Tool

    Image Compressor

    Reduce asset size before export.

    Open Companion Tool →

    Next Lesson

    Advanced Auto Layout Techniques