Figma – Vista Social

Plan

✓ Professional ✓ Advanced ✓ Scale ✓ Enterprise

Vista Social works with Figma in two ways, so your designs can become social posts without downloading and re-uploading files:

Import from Figma in Vista Social: connect your Figma account, paste a link to a design file, and import one or many frames into a post or your Media Library.
The Vista Social plugin for Figma: write a caption and send the frame you're working on to Vista Social, without leaving Figma.

What you can do

Import up to 50 frames at a time from any Figma design file your account can view.
Paste a link to a whole file, or to a single frame so it's selected for you.
Reopen files you used recently, without pasting the link again.
Choose PNG or JPG, and 1x, 2x, or 3x size.
Generate a social media caption in Figma in 17 languages and 13 tones of voice.
Send a frame and its caption from Figma straight to the Vista Social post composer.

Import from Figma in Vista Social

Step 1: Connect your Figma account

You only need to do this once. After that, your Figma account shows up like any other connected profile.

Open the post composer and click to add media, or go to Media and click Add image.
Select Figma.
Choose the profile group to add the Figma account to, then click Connect Figma account.
A Figma window opens. Sign in if asked, then click Allow access.

[Screenshot: the Import from Figma window with the Connect Figma account button]

Note: if the Figma window doesn't open, allow pop-ups for Vista Social, or turn off your ad blocker, and try again.

Step 2: Open a design file

In Figma, copy a link to your file. Use Share > Copy link for the whole file, or right-click a frame and choose Copy link to selection to link that frame.
In Vista Social, paste the link into Paste a Figma file or frame link and click Open.

Files you open are saved under Recent files, so next time you can click one instead of pasting the link. To take a file off the list, click the remove icon next to it.

[Screenshot: the link field with the Recent files list below it]

If you connected more than one Figma account, pick the right one with the account selector next to the link field. The account you choose needs to be able to view the file in Figma.

Step 3: Choose the frames to import

Vista Social lists every page in the file and the top-level frames on each page. If you pasted a link to a frame, that frame is already selected.

Check the frames you want. To select every frame on a page, check the page.
Use Search pages and frames to find a frame by name in a large file.
Click the preview icon next to a frame to see it larger before importing.
Choose a Format (PNG or JPG) and a Scale (1x, 2x, or 3x).
Click Import.

[Screenshot: a file open in the import window with frames selected and the Format and Scale options]

The frames are added to your post in the order they appear in the Figma file, and they're saved to your Media Library so you can reuse them.

Tip: 2x is a good choice for most social posts. Use 3x only for small frames, since large images can go over the upload size limit.

The Vista Social plugin for Figma

The plugin lets you start a post from inside Figma. You don't need to sign in to Vista Social to use it, and generating captions is free.

Install the plugin

In Figma, open the Vista Social plugin page in the Figma Community.
Click Open in... and choose a design file, or click Save to add it to your plugins.
In any design file, open the plugin from Actions > Plugins > Vista Social.

[Screenshot: the Vista Social plugin open in Figma]

Write a caption

On the Caption tab, choose a Language and a Tone of voice.
Optionally, pick a Topic and add keywords you want included, for example "summer, new collection".
Click Generate caption. Click it again to get a different one.
Edit the caption if you like, or write your own, then click Next: Export.

Leave the tone, topic, and keywords blank to get a surprise caption.

[Screenshot: the Caption tab with a generated caption]

Send your design to Vista Social

Select the frame you want to post.
On the Export tab, choose a Format (PNG or JPG) and a Size (1x, 2x, or 3x).
Click Export design.
Click Continue in Vista Social. The post composer opens with your design and caption attached. Sign in if asked.
Choose your profiles, make any final edits, and schedule or publish the post.

[Screenshot: the Export tab after the design was exported, with the Continue in Vista Social button]

Important notes

Figma limits how often files can be opened through its API. View and Collab seats get only a few file reads a month, and files in a Figma Starter plan are limited the same way whatever your seat. If Vista Social says Figma is limiting requests, try again later, ask your Figma admin for a Full or Dev seat, or move the file to a paid Figma plan.
Loading your Recent files list doesn't use a Figma file read, but opening a file from it does.
Only top-level frames, components, sections, and groups on each page can be imported. Hidden frames don't show up.
If Figma can't render a frame, Vista Social imports the rest and tells you which frames were skipped.
The plugin sends one frame at a time. To import many frames at once, use Import from Figma in Vista Social.
Exported images become regular media in Vista Social, so later changes in Figma don't update posts you've already created. Import the frame again to use the new version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which Vista Social plans include the Figma integration?

A: Professional, Advanced, Scale, and Enterprise. If you see a message asking you to upgrade, contact your account manager.

Q: Do I need a paid Figma plan?

A: No, but Figma limits how often files on Starter plans, and files opened with View or Collab seats, can be read through its API. A Full or Dev seat on a paid Figma plan gives you the most imports.

Q: Can I import from a file that someone else owns?

A: Yes, as long as the Figma account you connected can view the file.

Q: Why does Vista Social ask me to reconnect my Figma account?

A: Vista Social can no longer access the account, usually because access was removed in Figma or the sign-in expired. Click Reconnect Figma account and sign in with the same Figma account.

Q: Does the plugin need a Vista Social account?

A: You can generate captions and export designs without one. To schedule or publish the post, you need to sign in to Vista Social. Need help?

Reach out to our support team, and we are happy to help.