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Paragraph Spacing ​

Paragraph Spacing - Token Type ​

Paragraph Spacing Tokens define the vertical distance between 2 paragraphs of text as an individual property to be composed within a Typography Token. It is not intended to be applied to text elements directly.

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

Design decisions ​

Tokens Studio added support for Paragraph Spacing to accommodate Figma's unique way of handling text styles. They use this property to define the vertical distance between 2 paragraphs of text.

This isn't a typical CSS property; you could define it by adding a margin to your paragraphs.

INFO

This property does not appear in Figma's Dev Mode

While you can apply the Token using the plugin to change Figma's Paragraph Spacing property, this value does not have a CSS equivalent property so it does not show up in Dev Mode when inspecting CSS.

The Token applied will show up when inspecting Tokens Studio in Dev Mode.

→ Read the Dev Mode guide here.

When we apply a Typography Composite Token to a text layer in Figma, these Paragraph Spacing values will change the text layer:

  • Preferred value - 0
    • No additional space between paragraphs.
    • A line break would be added to create the space needed instead.
    • This most closely matches how spacing between paragraphs would be done in code.
  • Relative to Font Size - value in rem units
    • Example: Paragraph Spacing at 0.5rem with Font Size at 1rem
    • A person who has increased the font size of a mobile phone will see the space between paragraphs half the size of the text.
  • Fixed - value in pixels
    • Example 8px
    • The space between paragraphs will remain the same as a user zooms into a webpage.

Paragraph Spacing Tokens can be attached to Number Variables in Figma.

Possible values ​

Like all Tokens defining a dimension design decision, the value of a Paragraph Spacing Token must include a numeric value and, ideally, a unit of measure.

Tokens without a unit specified are applied as the pixel equivalent in Figma.

Hard-coded values ​

When writing the hard-coded values for a Paragraph Spacing Token, you'll want to:

  • Avoid spaces
  • Include a number and unit of measure.
    • Values without a unit will be translated to pixels in Figma.
    • The value should always be greater than 0.
  • Or use the specified string (below) for the normal value.

rem units (rem)

To support responsive design, you can define your Paragraph Spacing Token in rem units, and the plugin automatically converts the value to the pixel equivalent when the Typography Composite Token is applied to the text element in Figma.

For example, a Paragraph Spacing Token with a value of 1rem, when applied as a Typography Composite Token, will appear as 16px in Figma.

Pixel units (px)

While its not common, should you require the space between every paragraph to remain static even when users change their preferences, the Paragraph Spacing value can be defined in pixel units. For example:

16px

Values that reference another Token ​

When trying to reference another Token as the Value for a Paragraph Spacing 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 = paragraphSpacing
    • dimension
    • number

The Typography Composite Token form is open, with each property referencing another Token. The Paragraph Spacing property is highlighted.

W3C DTCG Token Format ​

Paragraph Spacing is not an official token type in the W3C Design Token Community Group specifications.

Tokens Studio has added Paragraph Spacing as an unofficial Token Type to support Figma's unique approach to this text property.

Transforming Tokens ​

When transforming Paragraph Spacing Tokens, there are specific configurations to be aware of.

The preprocessor in the SD-Transforms package will automatically convert the Tokens Studio specific Token Type of paragraphSpacing to align with the DTCG Format Token Type of dimension.

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

Paragraph Spacing, as part of Typography Composite Tokens, requires the SD-Transforms option to expand composite Tokens into multiple Tokens.

Resources ​

Mentioned in this doc:

Figma resources: ​

CSS resources: ​

Community resources: ​

  • None yet!

Known issues and bugs ​

Tokens Studio Plugin GitHub - Open issues for Token Type Paragraph Spacing

  • None yet

Requests, roadmap and changelog ​

  • None