Figma is a popular design tool that allows designers to create, prototype, and collaborate on designs in the browser. A key part of the design workflow is exporting assets from Figma to use in development or share with stakeholders.
One of the most common image formats to export from Figma is PNG (Portable Network Graphics). Here is a step-by-step guide on how to export and download PNG files in Figma.
Table of Contents
Selecting Content to Export
The first step is to select the content you want to export from your Figma designs. This could be:
- A single layer or vector object
- Multiple layers/objects
- An entire frame
- A selection of content across multiple frames
- Everything on the canvas
To select content:
- Click directly on layers or use the Layers Panel to select them
- Drag across the canvas to multi-select
- Select a frame by clicking on it
- Cmd/Ctrl-A to select everything
Accessing the Export Panel
Once you’ve selected the content to export, there are a couple ways to open the Export panel:
- Click on the Export button in the toolbar
- Right-click your selection and choose “Export…”
- Or use the keyboard shortcut Option/Alt + Cmd/Ctrl + E
This will open up the Export panel on the right side of the screen.
Configuring Export Settings
In the Export panel, you can configure export settings like format, scaling, and compression options.
Choosing PNG Format
- Click the + button to add export settings
- Select PNG from the format dropdown
Choosing PNG format
Scaling
- Use the scale dropdown to export at 1x, 2x, or 3x
- Or enter a custom scale value
- Scale up for higher resolution PNGs
Compression
- Drag the compression slider left or right
- Lower values = better quality/larger files
- Higher values = smaller files/lower quality
Advanced Settings
Expand the advanced settings section for additional options like:
- Export IDs
- Include invisible layers
- Ignore overlapping layers
- Simplify strokes
- Outline text
- Include bounding box
Previewing Exports
Once your export settings are configured, preview what will be exported by clicking the eye icon. This helps ensure you’ve selected the right content.
Exporting PNG Files
Finally, click the “Export [Name]” button to export your PNGs.
- Choose a local download location
- Give the PNG file a name
- Hit save
The PNG will download to your computer with all the configured export settings applied.
Tips
Here are some additional tips for exporting PNG files in Figma:
- Use PNG for images with transparency or illustrations with text
- JPG is better for photos
- Scale up to 2x or 3x for crisper, higher resolution PNGs
- Lower compression values retain more quality
- Preview before exporting to double check
- Batch export multiple sizes/formats using export configs
Conclusion
Learning how to properly export assets from Figma is an essential skill for both designers and developers.
Following this step-by-step process, you can easily export crisp and optimized PNG files with transparency and effects intact. This allows you to efficiently handoff design files or use them directly in development.
With the ability to select specific content, configure export settings, preview images, and batch export – Figma makes it simple to get production-ready files out of the tool. Mastering exports helps improve collaboration and bridges the gap between design and development.
