Linking a Figma text layer to a Ditto text item creates a new instance of that text item in your project. The linked text layer inherits all of the properties of that text item — copy text, status, tags, comments, variants, components, etc. Additionally, any changes made to the text item will be synced and reflected instantly across all of its instances, which automatically keeps your Figma copy up-to-date with Ditto.

The following will cover how to link a text layer to a Ditto text item, link repeated text instances together, and managing your linked text.

Creating a new text item from a Figma text layer will automatically link that text layer to the newly created text item, and it becomes an instance of that text item.

In Ditto’s design view and Figma plugin, text not linked to Ditto are displayed with a dashed border, while linked text have a solid border. By taking an action on unlinked text, Ditto will create a text item and link the text layer to it.

Text layers can also be linked to an existing text item in your Ditto project. Once a text item is linked, its original text value will be replaced with the text item’s value (if needed), and the text layer becomes another instance of the text item.

This is useful in situations where designers initially used placeholder text that needs to be replaced with actual copy — you can link the text layer with Ditto and update it with the correct copy in a single step.

Link a text layer to an existing text item:

Ditto constantly scans your project for opportunities to suggest text items that should be linked up. There are 3 scenario where linking suggestions will be surfaced by Ditto.

If the same text appears multiple times across the same page in a Figma file, such as a Sign Up button across different frames, Ditto will surface a suggestion to link these text layers to Ditto as multiple instances of the same text item, so you can manage them from one place.

Link repeated text layers to the same text item:

If you selected a text layer that matches an existing text item, Ditto will suggest linking the text layer to the matching text item. The text layer will inherit all the properties of the text item and become one of its instances.

Link text layer to a matching text item:

If you selected a text layer that matches a component in your component library, Ditto will suggest linking it to the matching component. The text layer will inherit all the properties of the component and become one of its instances.

Link text layer to a matching component:

When you duplicate a frame or text layer in Figma, Ditto automatically keeps text layers linked in the same way in the new frame. This keeps everything connected without any extra work.

Sometimes, you may want to split off an instance to manage that copy separately from the other text instances or change the copy entirely.

Split off an instance:

This creates a new text item with the same value, properties, and variants, but it will no longer be linked to the original text item. The web app also reflects the change with a duplicated text item.

Use the merge feature to combine multiple text items into one. All text layers that were linked to any of the merged text items will be linked to the resulting text item. Note that properties, comments, and change history from the text items merged into the resulting text item are not retained.

Merge text items:

You can unlink a text layer from Ditto to remove connection to your project. The text item will remain in your Ditto project, which you can manually link the text item or add it to your Figma file later.

Unlink a text layer: