Lesson 1: Installing Figarc

Welcome, Figarcher! Whether you’re a Figma connoisseur or just dipping your toes into this software, rest assured that these step-by-step instructions will help you use Figarc even if you have no knowledge of Figma, to the point of questioning the following premise:

What‘s the difference between Figma and Figarc?

Figma is the design software, while Figarc is the library used within Figma. So, if you want to use Figarc, you must already have a Figma account. If you don’t, you can create a Figma account for free.

Alright. Now that we have this ambiguity cleared out let’s dive in.

Step 1: Add Figarc to your Figma account

Simply drag and drop your Figarc library into your Figma account. Alternatively, you can do the following:

1. From the file browser, click Import at the top-right of the page.
2. Click From your computer.
3. Select the files you want to import and click Open. The import process may take a few minutes.
4. Click Done.

If still unclear, you can read the official Figma tutorial on how to import Figma files or watch the the video below.

Step 2: Publish the library

Publishing the Figarc library allows you to access all furniture pieces and styles from any other Figma file within your Figma account.

To publish the library:

1. Click on the Assets panel in the left sidebar.
2. Click the Library icon to open the library modal.
3. Click Publish and wait for the assets to be synced. It‘ll take a few minutes.

If in doubt, please refer to this Figma tutorial.

💡 Please note that you cannot publish external libraries as a free Figma user. But no worries. In that case, inside the Figarc library file, open a new Page and start drawing your floor there while using all Figarc fixtures, furniture pieces, and styles as local components.

Step 3: Import the library

Once you are ready to design your floor plan, open a new Figma file and do the following:

1. Click on the Assets panel in the left sidebar.
2. Click the Library icon to open the Libraries modal.
3. Find the Figarc library and click Add to file.

If something needs to be clarified, please refer to this Figma tutorial.

Step 4: Create the floor plan canvas

Just like a house is built on a plot of land, your floor plan must be drawn upon a digital canvas. In Figarc‘s world, a floor plan canvas can be any Figma frame. So, as long as you know how to draw frames in Figma, you are good to go.

Step 5: Apply a background color to the canvas

Once you draw the frame, applying a pre-defined style to the frame you just created is advisable. To do that:

1. Select the floor plan canvas you created.
2. Open the Design panel on the right-hand side.
3. Select the Styles and Variables icon in the Fill section.
4. Scroll down to the area where it says Floor textures.
5. Select any floor texture that looks good as a foundational background. I recommend going with the Noise texture.

Applying a background style from a pre-defined choice will dynamically change the frame background‘s style as you change the visual theme via variable modes on a floor plan level. You‘ll learn more about this gimmick in lesson 5.

Step 6: Set up the measurement units

Before you draw or place anything inside the frame that acts as your floor plan canvas, it‘s recommended that you pick the measurement unit. To do that:

1. Select the frame of your floor plan.
2. Open the Design panel on the right-hand side.
3. Find the Layout grid section.
4. Click the Four dots icon to open the grids.
5. Select Metric or Imperial from the pre-defined grid.

The Metric grid mimics measurements in meters and centimeters while selecting the Imperial grid mimics measurements in feet and inches.

For comparison, 1px is equivalent to 1cm, and 30cm is approximated as 1 foot.

💡 Please note that Figma is built as a product for digital design; therefore, the creation of grids allows only integers as inputs. That‘s why the imperial measurements are about 90% equivalent to metric ones. Future updates may find a workaround and address this constraint.

Step 7: Customize the nudge amount

Let‘s wrap up this tutorial with a neat trick by customizing the nudge amount to help you move things in Figarc in concert with the measurement unit you set up in the previous step.

• If you‘ve set up the measurement unit to Metric, you can set the Big nudge to 10px, which will help you nudge elements by 10cm.
• If you‘ve set up the measurement unit to Imperial, you can set the Big nudge to 30px, which will help you nudge elements by 1 foot.

To open the Nudge amount modal, in your Figma menu, tap on Settings → Nudge Amount.

The shortcut for using the Big nudge while you design is Shift + any arrow key.

And that‘s a wrap. 🌯