Base font size setting
The Base Font Size provides the value for 1rem
in the plugin.
This feature not only supports responsive design decisions but also ensures the adaptability of the design, similar to how engineers work in code.
When you assign a Token's value in rem units, the property is related to the Base Font Size, which the user of your product or website can adjust.
- For example, if the user increases the font size or uses a zoom feature, all design properties defined in
rem units
will respond accordingly.
In contrast, design elements defined in pixels
will remain the same regardless of the user settings.
Figma does not support rem units
in Design Mode, but it will show a loose conversion of rem units in Dev Mode, always assuming 1rem = 16px.
In the plugin
When working with the Tokens Studio plugin for Figma, it automatically converts rem units
to pixels
for you.
The value of the Base Font Size is 16px
by default, but it can be changed.
- The plugin supports the value of the Base Font Size token to reference another token if desired.
- This could be helpful for sophisticated token structures, where a different Base Font Size is defined for each brand or theme.
→ Read the Token Values with References guide for more details
View the current base font size setting
Navigate to the Settings Page in the plugin.
- Scroll down to the Base Font Size section.
You will see:
- The current value of
1rem
unit
Change the base font size setting
Navigate to the Settings Page in the plugin.
- Scroll down to the Base Font Size section.
- Select the Change Button to the left of the current value being displayed.
- The Change Base Font Size Modal will open
- Enter a new value in the form field:
- Hard-coded value in
pixels
- For example:
18px
- For example:
- Reference a token by typing it's name in curly brackets or selecting the dropdown button
- For example:
{rem-base}
- The compatible token types you will see are
number
,dimension
andfontSize
- For example:
- Hard-coded value in
- Select the Confirm Button to save your changes.
- The new value for
1rem
will appear in the Base Font Size settings.
Limitations and known issues
When working with the plugin's Base Font Size setting, there are a couple of things to be aware of.
The setting follows you across Figma files
The Base Font Size setting in the plugin is related to your Tokens Studio user account.
- This means the setting is not specific to your Figma file or sync provider.
- Changes made to this setting will apply to every Figma file.
If you work on many projects with different values for this setting, it is a good practice to check the Base Font Size value each time you open a new Figma file.
If the plugin can not find the token referenced in the setting, you will see a Broken Token icon next to the value as a reminder to change it.
Values to watch for
There is a known issue with the form field, where it accepts some values that it should not. Until the issue is fixed, you'll want to avoid:
- Values with rem units
- The plugin will drop the unit and assume the number is the value in pixels.
- For example,
1rem
will be1px
as the value
- Empty value
- The plugin will assume
16px
when the input is empty.
- The plugin will assume
- Typos in the value
- Incomplete references can be saved but will appear as broken on the settings page.
- For example,
{base-token
is missing the closing curly bracket}
Resources
CSS resources:
- MDN Web Docs - CSS Values and Units
Community resources:
- None yet!
💡 Something to share? Submit it here!
Known issues and bugs
Tokens Studio Plugin GitHub - Open issues for Settings Base Rem Value
- None yet
🐞 If you are experiencing an issue not listed here, please reach out to us on the Troubleshooting channel of our community Slack, or submit it on our feedback tool.
Requests, roadmap and changelog
- None
💌 Visit https://feedback.tokens.studio/ to contribute or subscribe to updates.