Guide to FigJam
FigJam is an online collaboration tool you and your team can use to brainstorm, develop, and organize ideas. You don't need to have any prior knowledge of design tools to get jamming.
FigJam files are lightweight, inclusive environments where anyone can take part. Think of them as digital whiteboards where you and your team discover, explore, and execute on ideas.
- Brainstorm and explore ideas
- Create decision trees, diagrams, and mind maps
- Run critiques or feedback sessions on designs
- Collect ideas, note feedback, and organize research
- Plan and run meetings, tutorials, or other interactive sessions
- Collaborate and align with project stakeholders all in one place
FigJam files are a specific type of file in Figma. You can access them alongside your regular design files in your teams, projects, and drafts.
Create a new FigJam file from any file creation point in the file browser.
- Open Figma in the file browser.
- Click into your Recents or Drafts in the sidebar.
- Select FigJam board at the top right of the screen
- Navigate to a project in the file browser.
- Click FigJam board to create a new board in the project.
Type figjam.new or figma.com/jam in the address bar.
Access FigJam-specific file templates to get you started.
If you're using FigJam in a browser, click New file in the left panel of an existing file.
FigJam files have three distinct regions: the board, the file toolbar, and the main tools and objects bar. We’ve simplified the layout so you can get to know what lives in each location.
Pages give you an extra layer of organization within your files.
Use pages to create individual spaces for activities, separate work streams between pages, and organize recurring meetings held in FigJam.
To add a page:
- Click in the left panel.
- Give the new page a name, then press Return / Enter.
Cluster, contain, and move objects together on your board with sections.
There are two ways to create a section on your board.
- Click in the bottom toolbar or use the keyboard shortcut ⇧ Shift S.
- Click the location of the board where you’d like the section to go to create a square section, or click and drag to create a custom sized section.
You can also click and drag a section over the objects you want to add to it.
- Click and drag objects on the board you’d like to add to a section.
- Right-click the selection.
- Click Create section from the menu.
Stickies are the virtual equivalent to the sticky notes we all know and love. They're the core for any FigJam board, along with shapes and connectors.
- Click in the toolbar of press S.
- Click an area of the board to place the sticky note.
- Start typing.
By default, stickies you add to the board will have your name on them, but you can click to turn this off from the properties menu when you select the sticky.
Shapes in FigJam are foundational tool for any project. Shapes can be resized, rotated, and given dashed or solid outlines.
Shapes are perfect for diagrams, flow charts, user journeys and flows, and so much more.
There are a few ways to create a shape, from either the toolbar or an existing shape on the board.
- Click the Shape tool and select a shape. Click to toggle betweeb Basic, Flowchart, and Misc. shapes.
- Hover the shape preview over the board to pick a spot.
- Click again to drop the shape.
You can also drag and drop a shape from the toolbar onto the board.
Use tidy up to rearrange and organize objects like stickies and shapes into a uniform grid of rows and columns. You can also adjust the horizontal and vertical spacing between objects and rearrange their order while maintaining their spacing.
- Click in the selection's toolbar.
Your objects are moved into a grid formation with even spacing. The dots and lines that appear in the selection's bounding box allow you to rearrange objects and adjust spacing.
Add connectors between stickies to diagram flows or create paths for others to follow.
- Click in the toolbar.
- Select between an elbow or straight connector. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts X or ⇧ Shift L to create an elbow connection, and L for a straight connection.
- Click and drag your cursor between the objects you want to connect.
Once created, you can click and drag a connector's start or end point to another object, or another side of the same object.
Use FigJam's marker, highlighter, and washi tape tools to draw on the board and other objects. It's a fun way to add your personality, call attention to something on the board, or doodle something fun.
To use the marker tool to draw your next masterpiece:
- Click the drawing tools in the toolbar and select the marker tool, or press M.
- Pick a color, and thin or thick stroke weight. You can always change this after you create your doodle.
- Click and drag on the board to doodle.
If you're looking for a bit more structure in your doodles, hold Shift to draw a straight line.
The marker tool stays active until you select another tool or press Esc. By default, the marker draws with a thin, gray stroke.
To highlight your board:
- Click the drawing tool in the toolbar and select the highlighter, or press ⇧ ShiftM.
- Pick a color, and thin or thick stroke weight. You can always change this after you create your highlight.
- Click and drag on the board to draw a highlight. Hold Shift to highlight in a straight line.
To use washi tape:
- Click the drawing tools menu and select washi tape or press W.
- Select a washi tape design or click to upload an image.
- Click and drag on the board where you want to add tape.
Text is a crucial element for jotting down ideas while brainstorming and communicating information to others.
Click in the toolbar or press T to add text to the board.
Text objects are used to add text on top of other objects or directly to the board.
Single click creates a text box that resizes horizontally as you type, also known as point text. Drag the sides of a text box to adjust its width.
- Select the text tool or press T .
- Click anywhere on the board to create a text box.
Use click and drag to create a text box that wraps any horizontal overflow text to the next line. This is also known as area text. The object has a fixed width and grows vertically as you add more text.
- Click and hold anywhere the board.
- Drag your cursor to create a text layer with specific dimensions.
Templates add pre-created content to a new or existing file, giving your team guidance and starting points they can build on. For example, the Daily standup template adds pre-created columns to your board so your team can add their tasks and goals as stickies. The Prioritization matrix template adds designated spaces for brainstorming and a matrix for determining feasibility and priority for ideas in a project.
- Hover over the pile of recently used icons in your toolbar.
- Click the More button to open the modal.
- Select the Template tab.
- Scroll and browse through available templates, or use the search bar at the top of the modal to search for a specific keyword.
- Hover over any template and click Add template to add it to your board.
You can import boards directly to FigJam from tools including:
You can import static images in PNG, JPEG, HEIC, GIF, TIFF, and WEBP formats, and animated images in the GIF format.
Static images do not animate. Supported static image formats PNG, JPEG, HEIC, GIF, TIFF, and WEBP.
To add an image:
- Hover over the stack of recently used icons in your toolbar and click More.
- Select the More tab.
- Select Images.
- Choose an image from your computer.
Copy layers from Figma and paste them in FigJam. This includes frames, images, components, text layers and links, and more.
As there is no layers panel in FigJam files, there will be limitations on what you can select within frames, components, or other layers pasted from Figma Design files.
Add clickable links to text to reference Figma files, FigJam files, documentation, or external websites.
- Select an object or a specific string of text.
- Click , or use the keyboard shortcut:
- Mac: ⌘ CommandK
- Windows: ControlK
- Enter or paste the URL from your clipboard.
If you already have the URL copied to your clipboard, select the text and press ⌘ CommandV / ControlV to insert your link.
To import a CSV, drag and drop the file into your board or:
- Click in the top toolbar.
- Go to File > Import from CSV.
- Select a CSV file and click Open.
You can also copy and paste cells right from a spreadsheet to your board.
When the import is complete, the data in the CSV cells are converted into a FigJam table.
Note: Tables have a 500 cell limit. If your CSV files contains more than the limit, only the first 500 cells of data will be imported. If you have more than 500 cells of data you'd like to bring to FigJam, consider adding multiple tables!
To convert cells in a table to stickies:
- Select the table.
- Type "convert to stickies" and press Return/Enter.
Widgets are custom objects you can add to yourFigJam board. They allow you to level up your sessions with different tools, data from external applications, or new ways to play.
To add widgets:
- Click More in the stack of recent widgets and stickers in the bottom toolbar.
- In the Widgets tab, search "Asana” or "Jira".
- Click the widget to add it to your board.
Hold a vote in FigJam to narrow down a board full of ideas and reach decisions faster. Each participant’s choices are hidden while they vote, then the responses and final tally are revealed to all when the voting session ends.
FigJam is a great place to host all kinds of meetings and collaborative exercises with your team.
FigJam is the perfect card sorting tool for research teams. In this tutorial, we’ll teach you how to create a card sorting template and how to use FigJam to run a card sorting activity with your participants.
- Click or press C to leave a comment on the board
- When editing a text field, type @ to tag a person in your file
- Press / and start typing to display a temporary message in your multiplayer cursor in a file
Stamps are curated stickers you can place on the board or object to communicate feedback.
To use stamps:
- Click in the toolbar or press the keyboard shortcut E.
- Click on your stamp of choice from the stamp wheel.
- Click on the board or on an object to place the stamp.
Emotes are bursts of temporary emoji reactions used to:
To use emotes:
- Select the emote tool. There are a few ways to do this:
- Right-click the board and select emote.
- Click and select emote.
- With the stamp wheel open, click the to switch to the emote wheel.
- Click on your emote of choice from the emote wheel.
- Click anywhere on the board to release a burst of emotes. Click and hold to release an ongoing stream of emotes.
FigJam eventually fades emote mode and switches you back to the select tool if you haven't emoted in a while.
You can also press Esc to exit out of the emote tool.
With libraries in FigJam, you can add to your board stickers and components created by your team and members of the Figma Community.
To browse your libraries:
- Hover over the pile of recently used icons in your toolbar and click the More button to open the modal.
- Select the Stickers tab.
- Search for stickers and components or browse your libraries.
- Click and drag an object from the library to your board.
Tip! You could also use the keyboard shortcut ⌥ Option2 / Alt2 to open up the modal.
To start or join a conversation, click in the toolbar. A conversation is active when a green outline appears around the and avatars.
To join an active conversation, click Join.
When you spotlight yourself, all collaborators viewing a file are notified you’ve requested they follow you. This comes in handy when using audio conversations for running meetings and workshops in FigJam and Figma Design.
Start spotlight
- Hover over your avatar in the top toolbar of a FigJam or Figma Design file.
- Click Spotlight me.
At this point, everyone currently viewing the file will be notified you’d like them to follow you. They have a few seconds to ignore your request before being shown your view of the file.
Custom templates help you quickly add content to FigJam files without needing to set up a file from scratch. You can create templates to capture your team's unique workflows and rituals, or simply as an expression of your team’s style.
Any member of your organization with can edit access can create and publish a FigJam file as a custom template. To publish a FigJam file as a template:
- Click the Share button in the top toolbar.
- Select the Publish tab, then click Publish as a template. If the file is in your drafts, FigJam will prompt you to move the file to a project.
- Enter in a name, description, and thumbnail image for the template.
- Select if you want to Publish to either your organization or current team. If set to your organization, anyone in the organization can use it. If set to current team, only members of the team the file is in can use the template.
- Click Publish.
