Community resources and templates in Figma - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Community resources and templates in Figma help you quickly start your BI dashboard designs by using ready-made layouts and components shared by others. This saves time and gives you ideas on how to organize your data visuals effectively.

When you want a quick starting point for a sales report dashboard without designing from scratch

When you need inspiration for visualizing customer data with charts and tables

When you want to use proven design patterns for financial reports shared by the BI community

When you want to save time by reusing templates for monthly performance dashboards

When you want to learn best practices by exploring how others build BI visuals in Figma

Steps

Step 1: Open

- Figma desktop app or web app

Figma home screen shows your recent files and Community tab

Step 2: Click

- Community tab in the left sidebar

Community page loads showing search bar and featured resources

Step 3: Type

- Search bar at the top of the Community page

Search results update to show templates and files matching your keywords

💡 Use keywords like 'BI dashboard', 'data visualization', or 'report template'

Step 4: Select

- A template or resource from the search results

Template preview opens showing pages, frames, and components

Step 5: Click

- Duplicate button at the top right of the template preview

Template file is copied to your Figma drafts for editing

Step 6: Open

- Your drafts from the Figma home screen

You see the duplicated template ready for customization

Step 7: Edit

- Template frames and components

You can change text, colors, charts, and layouts to fit your BI data

Before vs After

Before

Figma home screen shows no BI dashboard files in your drafts

After

Your drafts include a duplicated BI dashboard template ready for customization

Settings Reference

Search filters

📍 Community tab search bar dropdown

To narrow down community search results to specific resource types

Default: Files

Duplicate file

📍 Top right corner of template preview page

To copy a community template into your own Figma drafts for editing

Default: Duplicate

File permissions

📍 Share button in your duplicated file

To control who can view or edit your customized BI template

Default: Can edit

Common Mistakes

Not using specific keywords when searching community templates

This returns too many unrelated results making it hard to find BI templates

Use focused keywords like 'BI dashboard', 'data report', or 'analytics template'

Editing the community template directly without duplicating

You cannot save changes to the original community file

Always click Duplicate to copy the template to your drafts before editing

Summary

Community resources and templates provide ready-made BI dashboard designs to save time.

Use the Community tab in Figma to search, preview, and duplicate templates.

Always duplicate templates before editing to keep your own copy.