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Library Symbols

Last updated on 30 Oct 2023
2 min read

Browsing and inserting Library Symbols

You can browse and insert Library Symbols via the Insert window Insert or the Insert menu.

Press C to open the Insert window and select the Symbols tab Symbol menu or choose Window > Insert from the Menu Bar. In the left sidebar, you’ll see all of your enabled Libraries. Click on the Library you want to browse. You can also search for any Symbol using the search bar. From there, you can drag and drop any Symbol onto the Canvas.

You can also access Library Symbols from the Insert menu Insertchevron down in the toolbar of the main document window where, instead of the usual Symbols icon Symbol instance, they’ll have a link icon to show they’re part of a Library.

How to insert a Library Symbol from the Components View in the Mac app.

You’ll also find Library Symbols in the Inspector when you swap Symbols.

Editing Library Symbols

To edit a Symbol, select it on the Canvas and press ⌘⏎, or select Layer > Edit Symbol.

When you edit a Library Symbol, you’ll see you have a few options depending on where the Library file has been added from.

Selecting a Symbol that belongs to a Workspace (or local) Library will bring up the following options:

  • Open in Library will open the original Library document from your shared Workspace. This will update the Library and any documents with instances of that Symbol.
  • Unlink from Library will create a local version of the Symbol so you can edit its Source in your current document. This means the Symbol will no longer refresh if the Library it originally came from gets updated.

If the Symbol you want to edit belongs to a third-party Library like the Apple iOS UI kit, you’ll only have the option to Unlink from Library.

If you’re using a Library as part of a team, take extra care when editing its Symbol Sources. Everyone using that Library will receive any changes you make.

You can star Library versions. Anyone working with that Library will receive every change associated with the starred version. Unstarred versions won’t immediately send changes to Library users, so you can safely keep making changes without sending them to everyone until you’re ready. Learn more about Starred versions.