Figma auto-layout vs manual spacing: I finally picked a side

I've been flip-flopping between using auto-layout and just adjusting margins by hand for months. Last week I forced myself to try auto-layout on a 3-page dashboard mockup with 15 frames. It took me about 45 minutes to set everything up but saved me almost 2 hours when the client asked for a font size change. Now I'm all in on auto-layout even if it feels clunky at first. Has anyone else found a trick to speed up the initial setup time?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_lewis3713d ago

Oh man, same here! I was so stubborn about auto-layout for like a year because the initial setup just felt like a pain. But once you get past that first awkward 30-45 minutes, it's honestly magic how everything just snaps into place when you need to tweak something. I found that making a few reusable components with auto-layout already built in helped me skip the setup time on new projects. It's like building your own little shortcut library that you can just drag in and it's already ready to go.

green.mason13d ago

Funny enough, that's EXACTLY how I felt about learning to make a decent omelette. First few tries were a disaster but once you get the wrist flick down it's smooth sailing every time.