Frame nesting in Figma - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Frame nesting in Figma lets you put one frame inside another. This helps organize your design and keeps related parts together. It is useful for building dashboards or reports where you want to group charts and controls neatly.

When you want to group a chart with its title and filters so they move together

When you need to create a reusable section like a header or footer for multiple pages

When you want to keep your layers panel tidy by nesting related elements

When designing a dashboard that has multiple panels or cards inside a main container

When you want to apply effects or constraints to a group of elements as one unit

Steps

Step 1: Select the elements you want to group

- Canvas or Layers panel

The selected elements are highlighted

💡 Hold Shift to select multiple elements

Step 2: Right-click the selection and choose 'Frame selection'

- Context menu

A new frame is created around the selected elements

💡 You can also press Ctrl+Alt+G (Windows) or Cmd+Option+G (Mac) as a shortcut

Step 3: Drag an existing frame into another frame in the Layers panel

- Layers panel

The dragged frame becomes nested inside the target frame

💡 Look for the blue highlight line to know where the frame will nest

Step 4: Resize or move the parent frame

- Canvas

All nested frames and elements move or resize together

💡 Use constraints to control how nested elements behave when the parent frame changes

Before vs After

Before

Multiple charts and text boxes scattered separately on the canvas with no grouping

After

Charts and text boxes grouped inside frames nested within a main dashboard frame, moving together as one unit

Settings Reference

Constraints

📍 Right sidebar under 'Constraints' when a nested element is selected

Controls how nested elements resize or move when the parent frame changes size

Default: Left and Top

Clip content

📍 Right sidebar under 'Frame' section when a frame is selected

Determines if content outside the frame boundary is visible or hidden

Default: Off

Layout grids

📍 Right sidebar under 'Layout grids' when a frame is selected

Helps align nested elements inside the frame using guides

Default: None

Common Mistakes

Dragging elements visually on canvas instead of nesting them in the Layers panel

This does not change the layer hierarchy, so elements remain separate and do not move together

Drag frames or elements inside other frames in the Layers panel to nest them properly

Not setting constraints on nested elements

Nested elements may not resize or move as expected when the parent frame changes size

Set appropriate constraints for each nested element to control their behavior inside the parent frame

Summary

Frame nesting groups elements inside other frames to organize designs and keep related parts together

Nested frames move and resize together with their parent frame, making dashboard design easier

Use the Layers panel to nest frames and set constraints to control resizing behavior