Boolean - Token Type

Boolean Tokens define layer visibility of an element as true or false.

It does not control component properties, as Figma doesn't allow it.

Creating a new Boolean Token in the Tokens Studio Plugin for Figma.

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Design decisions

Boolean Tokens are great for hiding or showing layers that may be visible within a component under certain conditions.

For example, a card with some actions that are only visible once the card has been interacted with.

You could create two Boolean Tokens:

• card.show-actions.default with a value as false.

• card.show-actions.interaction with values as true.

Then, apply the Boolean Tokens to the Actions layer of each variation of the card design.

Boolean Tokens can be attached to Boolean Variables in Figma.

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Possible values

The syntax used to write string values for Design Tokens is important, so be sure to write your Boolean Token value with all lowercase letters and ensure there are no spaces.

Hardcoded string values

There are only two possible values for the Boolean Token:

• true

  • The layer is visible.

• false

  • The layer is not visible.

Values that reference another Token

When trying to reference another Token as the Value for a Boolean Token, you will see Tokens in the dropdown list that are:

• Living in Token Sets that are currently active.

  • In the left menu on the plugin's Tokens page, a checkmark is visible next to the Token Set name.

• Token Type is compatible:

  • The same = boolean

However, like all Token Types, you can "force" a reference by manually entering the Token Name between curly brackets.

For example {token.name.here}

The value will show a broken reference until the originating Token Set is marked as enabled.

Jump to the guide on Token Values with References by selecting the card below to learn more.

Token Values with References

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Apply Boolean Tokens

You can apply a Boolean Token to show or hide any design element and all of its children layers.

With one or more elements selected in Figma, click on the name of your chosen Boolean Token in the Plugin to instantly apply its value.

Once a Token has been applied, it will remain attached until you manually remove it.

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W3C DTCG Token Format

boolean is not yet an official Token Type in the W3C DTCG specifications. Tokens Studio has added Boolean as a Token Type to support Figma's Boolean Variable.

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Transforming Tokens

Engineers typically transform Tokens used in code with Style Dictionary, which is tool-agnostic. Tokens coming from Tokens Studio require an additional step: @Tokens-studio/sd-transforms, an npm package that prepares Tokens for Style Dictionary.

When transforming Boolean Tokens, there are no specific configurations to be aware of.

Running the SD-Transforms pre-processor as part of the generic package will prep your Boolean Tokens for Style Dictionary.

→ SD-Transforms Read-Me Doc, Using the preprocessor

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Resources

Mentioned in this doc:

• SD-Transforms - Read Me
• Style Dictionary - https://styledictionary.com/
• Design Tokens Community Group - W3C Draft

Figma resources:

• Design in Figma - Apply variables to designs, boolean

CSS resources:

• MDN Web Docs - Visibility

Community resources:

• None yet!

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Known issues and bugs

Tokens Studio Plugin GitHub - Open issues for Token Type Boolean

🐞 If you are experiencing an issue not listed here, please reach out to us on the Troubleshooting channel of our community Slack, submit it on our feedback tool, or send us an email [e-mail]

Requests, roadmap and changelog

• None yet

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