Applying and detaching styles in Figma - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows buttons with their assigned color and font styles before applying or detaching styles in Figma.

Cell	Value
A1	Button
B1	Color Style
C1	Font Style
A2	Submit
B2	Blue
C2	Bold
A3	Cancel
B3	Gray
C3	Regular
A4	Apply Style
B4
C4

Formula Trace

Apply Style to Button 'Submit' with Color Style 'Blue' and Font Style 'Bold', then Detach Style from Button 'Cancel'

Step 1: Select Button 'Submit'

Step 2: Apply Color Style 'Blue' to Button 'Submit'

Step 3: Apply Font Style 'Bold' to Button 'Submit'

Step 4: Select Button 'Cancel'

Step 5: Detach all styles from Button 'Cancel'

Cell Reference Map

   A        B           C  
1 Button  Color Style  Font Style
2 Submit  Blue         Bold    
3 Cancel  Gray         Regular 
4 Apply Style                 

Cells A2:C3 contain the buttons and their current styles. The formula applies styles to 'Submit' and detaches styles from 'Cancel'.

Result

   A        B               C              
1 Button  Color Style    Font Style
2 Submit  Blue (applied) Bold (applied)
3 Cancel  Gray (detached) Regular (detached)
4 Apply Style                 

After applying and detaching styles, 'Submit' button has linked Blue and Bold styles applied, while 'Cancel' button has detached styles and uses local formatting.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What happens when you apply a style to a button in Figma?

A The button deletes the style

B The button links to the style and updates if the style changes

C The button copies the style but does not link to it

D The button changes color randomly

Key Result

Applying a style links the element to that style; detaching removes the link and keeps local formatting.

Practice

1. What happens when you apply a style to an element in Figma?

easy

A. The element deletes all previous styles and resets to default

B. The element becomes a separate copy and does not update with style changes

C. The element links to the shared style and updates if the style changes

D. The element locks and cannot be edited anymore

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand style application

   Applying a style links the element to a shared design setting.

2. Step 2: Effect of linked styles

   When the shared style changes, all linked elements update automatically.

3. Final Answer:

   The element links to the shared style and updates if the style changes -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Applying style = linked updates [OK]

Hint: Applying style links element to shared settings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking applying style creates independent copy
• Believing element becomes locked
• Assuming styles delete previous formatting

2. Which of the following is the correct way to detach a style from an element in Figma?

easy

A. Double-click the style name in the right panel

B. Apply a new style over the existing one

C. Delete the element and recreate it without styles

D. Right-click the element and select 'Detach Style'

Solution

1. Step 1: Locate detach style option

   Right-clicking the element shows the context menu with 'Detach Style'.

2. Step 2: Detach style effect

   Selecting 'Detach Style' breaks the link to the shared style, allowing custom edits.

3. Final Answer:

   Right-click the element and select 'Detach Style' -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Detach style = right-click menu option [OK]

Hint: Detach style via right-click menu [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to detach by double-clicking style name
• Deleting element instead of detaching style
• Applying new style does not detach old style

3. Consider a text element with a shared color style applied. If you detach the style and then change the shared style color, what happens to the text element's color?

medium

A. The text color updates to the new shared style color

B. The text color remains as it was when detached

C. The text color resets to default black

D. The text color becomes transparent

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand detaching effect

   Detaching breaks the link to the shared style, making the element independent.

2. Step 2: Effect of changing shared style after detaching

   Since the element is detached, changes to the shared style do not affect it.

3. Final Answer:

   The text color remains as it was when detached -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Detached style = no updates from shared style [OK]

Hint: Detached elements keep their current style despite shared changes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming detached elements update automatically
• Thinking color resets to default
• Believing detaching makes element transparent

4. You tried to detach a style from a component but the option is grayed out. What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. You have not selected the element inside the component

B. The style is already detached

C. The component is a master component and styles cannot be detached

D. You need to restart Figma to enable detaching

Solution

1. Step 1: Check selection context

   Detaching styles requires selecting the element with the style, not the whole component frame.

2. Step 2: Why option is grayed out

   If the whole component is selected, detaching is disabled because styles apply to inner elements.

3. Final Answer:

   You have not selected the element inside the component -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Select inner element to detach style [OK]

Hint: Select inner element, not component frame, to detach style [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming master components block detaching
• Thinking restart fixes grayed option
• Believing style is already detached without checking

5. You have a button component with a shared fill style applied. You want to customize the button's fill color for a special case without affecting other buttons. What is the best approach?

hard

A. Detach the fill style from the button instance and change the fill color

B. Create a new shared fill style and apply it to the button instance

C. Change the fill color in the master component directly

D. Apply a text style to the button instead

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand customization without affecting others

   Detaching the style breaks the link, allowing unique edits on this button only.

2. Step 2: Why other options are less suitable

   Creating a new shared style affects multiple elements if reused; changing master affects all buttons; text style does not affect fill color.

3. Final Answer:

   Detach the fill style from the button instance and change the fill color -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Detach style to customize single element [OK]

Hint: Detach style to customize one element without global changes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Changing master component affects all instances
• Applying text style does not change fill color
• Creating new shared style affects multiple elements