Selection rules

Every transfer mode reads your Figma selection and decides whether it can accept the selection as input. If a transfer-mode button is disabled, your current selection does not satisfy that mode’s selection contract. This page explains the contracts and lists every selection-to-mode mapping.

Common reasons a button is disabled

1. Mixed selection. Single-type modes (Shape, Text, Image) require every selected node to be the same type. A Frame and a Text together disable Shape and Text; only Layout (and Library Asset, if the subtree contains assets) stays enabled.

2. Indirect selection. Selecting a parent that contains a text does not enable Text. The plugin checks the selected node itself, not its children.

3. Bridge server not connected. Connection state takes priority. While the bridge is disconnected, every transfer-mode button is disabled. See Connection states.

Transfer modes overview

Kanzi Figma Importer groups transfers into four broad categories, each with its own selection contract:

Mode	Selection contract
Clipboard	Any single layer, or a multi-selection. The plugin reads the metadata of one source layer and sends it in one packet. Use Clipboard to apply several property values to a Kanzi node in one click. With a multi-selection, Kanzi Figma Importer uses the lowest layer in the tree as the source.
Library Asset	Walks the selected subtree for Figma variables, colour styles, text styles, and component variants. Registers them as Library Assets in Kanzi (PropertyTypes, FVC entries, States). See Library Assets (FVC pipeline).
Single (Shape / Text / Image)	Specific layer types only (rectangle, ellipse, text, etc.). Multi-select of the same layer type is allowed; Kanzi Figma Importer sends each selected node as its own block in Kanzi Studio. Mixing types disables the button.
Layout (experimental)	Walks the full tree and routes each descendant to its best-fit Kanzi node type automatically (Shape, Text, Image2D, prefab placeholder). Tags refine the routing. See Layout transfer. Layout accepts every layer type; any single shape, text, or image selection can also be transferred via Layout.

Per-transfer rules

Rules are listed in the same order the buttons appear in the plugin.

Clipboard

• Any single node, or a multi-selection. Kanzi Figma Importer reads available metadata from one source layer and applies it to the layer currently selected in Kanzi Studio with one button click. With a multi-selection, Kanzi Figma Importer uses the lowest layer in the tree as the source.

Library Asset

• Any parent node of a subtree. Kanzi Figma Importer walks descendants for Figma variables, colour styles, text styles, and component variants.

• The options panel lists every detected asset. Deselect any you do not want to transfer before clicking Send.

• All chosen assets are emitted alongside any other transfer in the same batch. Variables, styles, and states are created and bound in Kanzi automatically.

Image

• Any node with bounds is transferable.

• The [KZ_BAK] and [KZ_BAK_TINT] tags apply only when the selection is transferred via Layout. Setting a bake tag on a frame inside a Layout transfer routes that subtree through Image transfer with extra wrapper machinery. See Layout transfer.

Shape

• Primitives: RECTANGLE, ELLIPSE, POLYGON, STAR. These remain fully parametric in Kanzi; fill, stroke, and corner radii stay editable.

• Frame-as-shape: a FRAME with at least one visible fill or stroke maps to a rounded rectangle in Kanzi.

• SDF path: VECTOR, BOOLEAN_OPERATION, LINE, ARROW. Each is converted to a signed-distance-field texture and rendered as a Kanzi Shape. In Figma these are primitives; Kanzi Figma Importer treats them as SDF-only because their geometry cannot be reduced to the parametric primitive uniforms. SDF results are less flexible at runtime: the geometry is baked into a texture.

• Each node sends a separate Shape transfer (multi-select is a batch).

Text

• All selected nodes must be TEXT layers.

Layout (experimental)

Warning

Layout transfer is experimental. The common shape, text, image, and component cases work, but composite-specific routing and deeply nested re-imports may cause issues. Some imports require manual cleanup.

• Selected nodes can be any Figma type. Layout walks the tree and dispatches each descendant to its best-fit Kanzi pipeline.

• Frames, components, instances, groups, and variant sets are mapped to prefabs or placeholders. Other layer types inside the subtree are transferred through their own pipelines (Image2D for image fills, TextBlock2D for text, Shape for vector children, prefab placeholders for components and instances).

• The [KZ_BAK], [KZ_BAK_TINT], [KZ_BTN], [KZ_TGL], and [KZ_SDF] tags only steer routing reliably when the selection is transferred through Layout.

Multi-selection

• Shape, Text, Image: every selected layer must have the same type. Kanzi Figma Importer sends each selected node as its own block in Kanzi Studio.

• Clipboard: one packet, with the metadata of the lowest layer in the tree.

• Library Asset: deduplicated across the selection. The same variable or style is not emitted twice.

• Layout: the full subtree of every selected container is walked.

Selection → enabled modes (quick lookup)

Selection	Clipboard	Asset	Image	Shape	Text	Layout	Notes
Single RECTANGLE / ELLIPSE / POLYGON / STAR	Yes	Yes (*)	Yes	Yes		Yes	Primitive shape. Stays parametric in Kanzi when sent via Shape. Layout also accepts the layer.
Single VECTOR / BOOLEAN_OPERATION / LINE / ARROW	Yes	Yes (*)	Yes	Yes (SDF)		Yes	Routed through the SDF path when sent via Shape. Layout also accepts the layer.
Single FRAME (with fill or stroke)	Yes	Yes (*)	Yes	Yes		Yes	Frame-as-shape, or full layout if it has children.
Single FRAME (no paint)	Yes	Yes (*)	Yes			Yes	Pure container. Goes through Layout.
Single COMPONENT / INSTANCE / GROUP	Yes	Yes (*)				Yes
Single variant set (COMPONENT_SET)	Yes	Yes				Yes (partial)	Variant pipeline is partial. See Release notes.
Single TEXT	Yes	Yes (*)		Yes (SDF)	Yes	Yes	Text-as-Shape via SDF (also via [KZ_SDF]). Text-as-image is only available via Layout transfer with [KZ_BAK].
Multi-select same type	Yes	Yes (dedup)	Yes (per layer)	Yes (per layer)	Yes (per layer)	Yes	Single-type modes send one block per selected layer.
Multi-select mixed types		Yes (dedup)				Yes	Only Asset and Layout work on mixed selections; single-type modes stay off.

* Library Asset enables whenever the selected subtree contains Figma variables, colour styles, text styles, or component variants.

See also

Figma plugin overview

Transfer modes

Layout transfer

Library Assets (FVC pipeline)