Figma Layers Panel and Selection (beginner guide)

Navigate the hierarchy and develop confident selection habits. Here’s how to do it in Figma on macOS, step by step — part of the free Figma beginner curriculum.

Lesson 3 of the Figma curriculum. Before this: Shapes and the Frame Tool. Next up: Auto Layout.

What you’ll do

• Open the left Navigation panel and identify the File tab and Assets tab
• Read the Layers panel — parent, child, top-level frame
• Expand and collapse frames in the Layers panel
• Click a layer on the canvas to select; Command-click to deep-select inside a frame
• Use Tab and Shift Tab to move between siblings in the Layers panel
• Escape or Shift Enter to move selection up to the parent
• Rename a layer by double-clicking its name in the Layers panel
• Minimize the whole UI with Shift \ to focus on the canvas

Do it hands-free with Skilly

Reading steps is one thing; doing them while the menus are in front of you is another. Skilly is a voice-first tutor for macOS: you ask out loud — “where’s the layers panel?” — and it answers while pointing at the exact button, watching your actual Figma window. It’s the same Figma curriculum these lessons come from, taught live instead of read. 15-minute trial, no card.

Keep going

This is one stage of the full Figma beginner curriculum. Previous: Shapes and the Frame Tool. Continue with Auto Layout.