You change a color on one card, then realize the same card shows up in eight other frames. The slow way is to open each frame and repeat yourself.
Figma's multi-edit exists for exactly this. You select every layer you want to change, set the property once, and the change lands on all of them at the same time.
It works across frames, groups, and sections, so the eight scattered cards become one edit instead of eight.
What multi-edit actually is
Multi-edit is the behavior you get when you select more than one layer and start changing things. Set a fill, a corner radius, a font size, or a position, and every selected layer takes that value.
The point is to stop you from doing the same edit over and over. If twelve buttons need the same new background, you select all twelve and set the fill once.
Select multiple layers
There are a few ways in, and they all end with more than one layer selected. Pick whichever is closest to what you can see.
- Shift-click on the canvas. Click one object, then hold Shift and click the next. Keep going to add as many as you want, and Shift-click an already-selected layer to drop it.
- Marquee drag. Click an empty spot and drag a box over the objects you want. Everything the box touches gets selected.
- In the Layers panel. Click the first layer, hold Shift, and click another to grab the whole range between them. Hold Ctrl on Windows or Command on Mac to pick out individual layers instead of a range.
To reach a layer nested inside a frame or group without entering it first, hold Ctrl on Windows or Command on Mac and click straight through. Figma calls this deep select.
Select matching layers across frames
This is the part people miss. When you have the same element repeated across many frames, you don't have to hunt for each copy.
Select one of them, then press Alt + Ctrl + A on Windows or Option + Command + A on Mac. Figma selects every matching layer across your frames, groups, and sections at once.
You can also right-click the layer and choose Select matching layers, or click that option in the right sidebar.
One limit is worth knowing. Select matching layers works across separate frames, groups, and sections, and it does not gather matching layers sitting inside the same single frame.
For those, Shift-click them or drag a marquee over them by hand.
Edit properties on everything at once
Once you have the layers selected, the right panel drives everything from a single set of controls. Type a value in the fields and it applies to the whole selection.
- Fill, stroke, and effects.
- Corner radius, opacity, and blend mode.
- Size and position, including X and Y.
Beyond raw properties, a multi-selection still behaves like a group you can act on. You can rotate the whole set, group it, use it as a mask, run boolean operations, and wrap it in an auto layout frame.
Alignment has a useful twist here. By default the align buttons line your layers up against each other, but if you hold Shift and click an alignment button, each layer aligns to its own parent frame instead.
That is how you center a header inside every screen in one move.
Edit text across many layers
Text gets its own mode. Select the text layers you want, then press Enter or Return, or click Multi-edit text at the top of the right sidebar.
Now you can type, and your edit flows into every selected text layer at the same time. This is the fastest way to fix a label that got copied into a dozen screens with a typo.
Edit component variants together
Inside a component set, you can edit several variants at once with multi-edit. Press Q to enter that mode, and press Q again to leave it.
That lets you push the same change through every variant of a component instead of opening them one at a time.
Select by shared property
Sometimes the thing your layers have in common is a property, not a position. Figma can build a selection from that.
Select a layer, open the Edit menu, and look under Select all. You can select everything that shares the same Properties, Fill, Stroke, Effect, Text Properties, Font, or Instance.
Say you used the wrong gray on a handful of layers scattered through the file. Click one of the wrong-gray layers, choose Select all with the same Fill, then set the correct color once and the whole batch updates.
Rename many layers at once
Layer names matter more than they look like they do, because the next person to open the file has to read them. Renaming in bulk is a single dialog.
Select the layers, then press Ctrl + R on Windows or Command + R on Mac. You can also right-click the selection and choose Rename.
The dialog gives you a preview on the left and a few moves on the right:
- One name for all. Type a name and every selected layer takes it.
- Find and replace. Use the Match field to swap out part of each existing name without retyping the rest.
- Keep the current name. Insert each layer's existing name into a new pattern, so you can add a prefix or suffix.
- Add numbers. Number up or Number down appends an ascending or descending count, turning a stack into Icon 1, Icon 2, and so on.
Add, remove, and reorder layers in a selection
A multi-selection is not locked once you make it. You can keep adjusting which layers are in it.
- Add a layer. Hold Shift and click another object, on the canvas or in the Layers panel, and it joins the selection.
- Remove a layer. Hold Shift and click a layer that is already selected to drop just that one and keep the rest.
- Clear and restart. Press Esc or click an empty part of the canvas to deselect everything.
Reordering is easiest in the Layers panel, where you can drag selected layers up or down the stack to change their order. The panel is also where you confirm exactly what is in your selection before you make a change you can't easily eyeball.
Practical tips
- Watch the Layers panel while you build a selection. It is the only reliable way to see every layer that will be affected when the canvas is crowded.
- When a multi-edit goes wrong, undo with Ctrl + Z on Windows or Command + Z on Mac. The undo reverses the change on the whole selection in one step, the same way the edit applied it.
- Reach for Select matching layers before you start Shift-clicking. If the layers are spread across frames, it is far faster than finding each one.
- If your components were consistent to begin with, you need multi-edit far less often. Building on a real design system keeps the repetition from piling up in the first place.
Common questions
What is multi-edit in Figma?
Multi-edit lets you select more than one layer or object and change them all at the same time. You set a property once, like a fill or a corner radius, and every selected layer takes the change.
What is the shortcut to select matching layers in Figma?
Select one object, then press Option + Command + A on Mac or Alt + Ctrl + A on Windows. Figma selects every matching layer across your frames so you can edit them together.
Can you multi-edit across different frames in Figma?
Yes. You can select layers across frames, groups, and sections, either by Shift-clicking on the canvas or in the Layers panel, or by using Select matching layers.
How do you edit multiple text layers at once in Figma?
Select the text layers, then press Enter or Return, or click Multi-edit text at the top of the right sidebar. Type your change once and every selected text layer updates to match.
How do you rename many layers at once in Figma?
Select the layers, press Command + R on Mac or Ctrl + R on Windows, or right-click and choose Rename. The dialog lets you set one name, find and replace part of a name, or add ascending numbers.
Why is multi-edit not selecting matching layers inside the same frame?
Select matching layers works across separate frames, groups, and sections, not within a single frame. To edit similar layers in one frame, Shift-click them or marquee over them by hand.