Tidying Up the Figma UI — Hide Sidebars and Menus to Reclaim Canvas Space

“I want to temporarily hide Figma’s sidebars to get more canvas space.” “I’d like to understand how the menus and overflow menu behaves.” “When I present, I want the entire UI gone.” — if you use Figma every day, you’ll run into these UI-toggling scenarios constantly.

This article walks through the UI tips for sidebars, menus, layer panels, and presentation mode in Figma, with shortcuts for both Mac and Windows. If you’re coming from Adobe XD, the Figma UI structure itself may feel unfamiliar. Getting the official terminology straight first makes everything afterward easier.

📝 Introduction — Why tidying up the UI matters

Figma’s current UI (UI3, the default since 2024) is built around four elements:

• Left sidebar (Navigation panel) — file name, main menu, Layers, Assets
• Right sidebar (Properties panel) — Design and Prototype properties
• Toolbar (floating, bottom-center) — basic tools, Comment, Dev Mode, Actions
• Floating controls (top-right) — avatars, Share, Present buttons

The thin top bar from the previous Figma UI has been removed in UI3, so the design area now stretches the full height of the window between the two side panels. Most of the time you can leave this layout as-is, but situations like the following make you want to clean it up:

• You want to focus on a wide canvas — pixel-level adjustments, complex Auto Layout work
• You want to share or review a clean design — UI-free screenshots
• You want to present full-screen — show the design without Figma’s UI getting in the way
• You want to shrink just one panel temporarily — narrow the right Properties panel for more horizontal canvas space

Doing all of this by hand — chasing menus, resizing windows — becomes tedious quickly. Figma has shortcuts and UI affordances for exactly these cases, and once you know them you can switch in a couple of seconds.

This article covers the following:

1. The Figma UI structure — get the official names straight (File tab, Assets tab, Properties panel, etc.)
2. Show/Hide UI — hide the entire UI at once
3. Minimize UI — minimize the left sidebar and float the right sidebar to maximize canvas space
4. Tab switching — moving between File and Assets in the left sidebar
5. The overflow menu (⋯) — how Figma collapses commands and how to find them
6. Presentation mode — full-screen design display
7. Mac vs. Windows comparison — a single shortcut reference table

🎯 A quick tour of the Figma UI

Before getting into the tips, it helps to nail down the official names for each part of the Figma UI. Many tutorials call them “the layers panel” or “the assets panel,” but Figma’s own documentation uses slightly different terms. Aligning your vocabulary here saves headaches later when you’re searching for a shortcut or a how-to.

Left sidebar

The left sidebar holds two tabs for browsing file content:

• File tab — Shows both Layers (the layer list) and Pages (the page list). This is the tab that’s open when you first open a file.
• Assets tab — Shows the components defined in this file, plus any components from enabled team libraries.

Right sidebar (Properties panel)

The official name for the right sidebar is the Properties panel. It contains two tabs:

• Design tab — Edit design properties for the selected layer (position, size, fill, stroke, effects, etc.)
• Prototype tab — Configure prototype connections (triggers, actions, transitions)

What appears inside the Properties panel changes dynamically based on what type of layer is selected.

Top section of the left sidebar

In UI3, the file name and main menu live in the upper section of the Navigation panel (left sidebar):

• Main menu (Figma “F” logo, top of the left sidebar)
• File name and edit status
• File operations dropdown (next to the file name — move, publish library, create branch, version history)
• Minimize UI button

Floating controls (top-right)

In the top-right corner of the screen, Figma floats a small cluster of share-and-present controls:

• Collaborator avatars (people currently in the file)
• Share button
• Present button (▶ icon — launches presentation mode)

→ The Present button referenced later in this article lives here.

Toolbar (floating, bottom-center)

UI3 collects the main toolset into a floating Toolbar at the bottom-center of the screen:

• Move / Frame / Shape / Text and other basic tools (center)
• Comment tool (shortcut: C)
• Dev Mode toggle (shortcut: Shift + D)
• Actions menu (entry point to AI features and more, on the right)

🎬 Hiding the entire UI (Show/Hide UI)

When you want to hide everything at once — both sidebars, the bottom Toolbar, and the top-right controls — use the Show/Hide UI command. Only the canvas and your design remain.

⚠️ First, find your environment’s actual shortcut

The Show/Hide UI shortcut varies significantly depending on your OS and keyboard layout. Figma binds it to a specific physical key position, so when your layout puts a different character at that position, the displayed shortcut changes accordingly.

The most reliable way to check:

1. Click the ? icon in the bottom-right corner
2. The Keyboard Shortcuts panel opens
3. Find the “Show/Hide UI” entry — the key combination shown there is the one that actually works on your machine

Representative shortcuts by environment

→ Treat the table as a rough guide. The reliable source of truth is always the ? icon for your specific environment.

Run it from the Actions menu (formerly Quick actions — works everywhere)

When the shortcut isn’t working or you don’t remember it, the Actions menu (formerly Quick actions) is the reliable path. It works the same way across every OS and keyboard layout.

1. Open the Actions menu:
   • Mac: Cmd + K (recommended), or Cmd + / / Cmd + P
   • Windows: Ctrl + K (recommended), or Ctrl + / / Ctrl + P
2. Type in the search box: show or hide
3. Select “Show/Hide UI” from the results

The Actions menu indexes nearly every Figma command, so anything you can’t remember the shortcut for is still reachable. Note: command names are translated to match your Figma UI language, so if your Figma is set to a non-English language, search using that language’s term.

Restoring the UI

Pressing the same shortcut again brings the UI back. It’s a toggle, so there’s only one keystroke to remember.

↔️ Reclaiming space with Minimize UI

If hiding everything is more than you need but you still want a wider work area, Minimize UI is the middle ground.

What happens when you run it

It’s an asymmetric change: the left panel shrinks dramatically, while the right panel only changes appearance. The net effect is that the horizontal canvas space gained from the collapsed left sidebar becomes available.

Reliable ways to trigger it (in order of recommendation)

1. Click the “Minimize UI” icon at the top of the left sidebar — works across all environments (most recommended)
2. Actions menu (Cmd + K / Ctrl + K) → search minimize and run — works everywhere
3. Shortcut — layout-dependent:

→ Figma’s shortcuts are designed around the US QWERTY layout, so non-US keyboards (JIS, European, etc.) get different key assignments. Same pattern as Show/Hide UI.

Restoring the layout

Click the “Minimize UI” icon (the same icon you used to minimize) inside the collapsed sidebar to restore the original layout. If you used the shortcut, the same shortcut toggles back.

Want to hide only the left or only the right sidebar?

“I only want to shrink the Properties panel but keep Layers.” “I only want to hide Layers but keep the Properties panel.” Unfortunately, Figma does not provide a dedicated shortcut to hide only one of the two sidebars (this has been a recurring request on the Figma Forum).

Workarounds:

• Use Minimize UI — as covered above, Minimize UI dramatically shrinks the left sidebar and floats the right sidebar without changing its content area. This is the closest match to “I want the left panel mostly gone.”
• Drag a sidebar’s edge to shrink it to minimum width — grab the boundary of either sidebar and drag inward. Not a full hide, but you can minimize the visible footprint.
• Use Show/Hide UI and toggle as needed — hide everything (both sidebars + Toolbar + top-right controls) and bring it all back when you need it. Binary on/off.

📂 Switching between File and Assets in the left sidebar

The left sidebar has two tabs — File and Assets — and you’ll hop between them depending on what you’re doing.

What’s inside the File tab

The File tab has two sections:

• Pages — the list of pages in the file. Pages are the unit Figma uses to logically partition designs; each page is its own independent canvas.
• Layers — the hierarchy of layers, frames, and groups inside the currently active page.

Pages sits at the top of the File tab; clicking it expands the page list. Layers sits below it and always reflects the currently selected page.

What’s inside the Assets tab

The Assets tab lists components defined in this file, plus components from any enabled team libraries. It has a search box for narrowing by name. Dragging from Assets onto the canvas drops in an instance of that component.

Tab-switching shortcuts

Switching between File and Assets has dedicated shortcuts:

When you’re placing a lot of components or constantly bouncing between Layers and Assets, these are noticeably faster than reaching for the mouse.

⋯ How the overflow menu (⋯) behaves

Throughout the Figma UI you’ll see ⋯ (three-dot / overflow menu) icons. These collect commands that Figma can’t fit at the current sidebar width or in the current context.

Where they appear

• Top-right of Properties panel sections — additional commands for that section (e.g., the ⋯ on the Fill section → “Save as fill style,” etc.)
• Inside layer right-click menus — sometimes a deeply nested menu groups items behind a ⋯

How to open them

Click the ⋯ icon to reveal the hidden commands. Hover alone won’t expand it — a click is required.

”I can’t find the feature I’m looking for”

If you’re sure a button used to be in the Properties panel but you can’t find it now, the most common cause is that the panel got narrower and pushed the button into the ⋯ overflow. Widen the sidebar, or click the ⋯ to see the collapsed command list.

When that still doesn’t help, search by name in the Actions menu (Cmd + K / Ctrl + K).

🎥 Full-screen presentation mode

When you need to show a design to clients or in a meeting, Figma’s Presentation view is the cleanest option. It hides the entire editing UI and shows just the design. If your file has prototype connections, clicking through them in presentation mode plays back like an actual prototype.

Launching it

• Click the Present button (▶ icon) in the top-right of the screen
• Or use the shortcut:
  • Mac: Cmd + Option + Enter
  • Windows: Ctrl + Alt + Enter

Presentation mode opens in a separate window or tab.

Full-screen mode

Once in presentation view, press F to go full-screen. The browser UI itself disappears and the design fills the entire display.

Exiting

• Exit full-screen: F (toggle) or Esc
• Close presentation mode entirely: close the window or tab

⌨️ Mac vs. Windows shortcut comparison

A summary of every UI shortcut covered in this article, side-by-side for Mac and Windows.

Notes:

1. Mac US: Cmd + \ or Cmd + .. Windows US: Ctrl + \. JIS: @ alone. Always confirm with the ? icon
2. Minimizes the left panel + floats the right panel. Layout-dependent; confirm with the ? icon
3. Shows Layers and Pages
4. Shows the component list
5. Entry point for searching every command (formerly Quick actions)
6. Same action as the ▶ button in the top-right
7. Used after entering presentation mode — toggle
8. Either key exits full-screen

🛠️ Workflow-specific tips

Here are a few example combinations of the operations covered above, mapped to common scenarios.

When you need to focus on pixel-level adjustments

• Run Minimize UI to collapse the left sidebar (icon at the top of the left sidebar, or minimize in the Actions menu; shortcut is US: Shift + \ / JIS: Ctrl + Shift + @)
• The bottom Toolbar stays, so tool switching still works
• Properties panel is minimized — when you need to read numeric values, drag it back to width

When you want clean screenshots

• Use Show/Hide UI to hide everything (confirm your environment’s key from the ? icon, or search show or hide in the Actions menu)
• Only the canvas and your design remain
• Once the screenshot is taken, the same action brings the UI back

When presenting or screen-sharing to clients

• Click the Present button (▶ icon) in the top-right, or use Cmd/Ctrl + Option/Alt + Enter to launch presentation mode
• Press F to go full-screen
• The browser UI also disappears, so only the design fills the display
• When done, Esc exits full-screen and closing the window exits presentation mode

When placing a lot of components

• Switch the left sidebar to the Assets tab (Option + 2 / Alt + 2)
• Use the search box to narrow by component name, then drag to place
• If the Properties panel feels too wide, drag its border to a smaller width (Minimize UI collapses the left panel and floats the right panel, so if you specifically want to narrow just the right panel, dragging is the better tool)

When hunting for a hidden command

• First, click the ⋯ in the UI to see what’s been collapsed
• If it’s still not there, open the Actions menu (Cmd + K / Ctrl + K) and search by name

❓ FAQ

Q1. There are too many shortcuts to remember. Which ones really matter?

If you remember just two, your day-to-day work is mostly covered:

• Cmd + K / Ctrl + K (Actions menu — open it whenever you’re stuck)
• Minimize UI (icon at the top of the left sidebar, or search minimize in the Actions menu; the keyboard shortcut depends on your layout — US: Shift + \ / JIS: Ctrl + Shift + @)

The full UI toggle (Show/Hide UI) varies by keyboard layout, so the most reliable approach is to look it up in the ? icon, or run show or hide from the Actions menu. As long as you remember the Actions menu, every other shortcut you’ve forgotten is still searchable from there.

Q2. Is there a shortcut to hide only the right sidebar?

No dedicated shortcut exists. This has been a recurring feature request on the Figma Forum, but as of writing it hasn’t been implemented. The workarounds: drag the Properties panel to its minimum width (not a full hide, but minimizes the visible area), or use Show/Hide UI to hide everything and toggle back when you need it.

Note that Minimize UI collapses the left sidebar — the right sidebar gets floated rather than hidden, so it’s not suited to “hide only the right” use cases.

Q3. My Show/Hide UI shortcut isn’t working

Show/Hide UI’s bound key varies significantly with OS × keyboard layout. The Ctrl + \ or Cmd + . you saw in some blog post isn’t going to work for everyone — that’s normal.

Reliable fixes:

1. Click the ? icon in the bottom-right to open the Keyboard Shortcuts panel
2. The combination shown next to “Show/Hide UI” is the one that works in your environment

Common cases:

• Mac US layout: Cmd + \ or Cmd + .
• Windows US layout: Ctrl + \
• Mac European layouts: Cmd + .
• Windows JIS (Japanese): @ key alone

Alternatives that don’t depend on the shortcut at all:

1. Open the Actions menu (Mac: Cmd + K / Windows: Ctrl + K) and search show or hide
2. Right-click on the canvas and choose Show/Hide UI from the context menu

Q4. I can’t find the layer panel anywhere

There’s no standalone “Layers tab” — Layers live inside the File tab. If your left sidebar is showing Assets, click the File tab to switch. If the sidebar is currently minimized, click the “Minimize UI” icon (inside the collapsed menu bar) to expand it back.

Q5. Is there a way to keep the overflow menu (⋯) permanently expanded?

The ⋯ appears based on panel width and context, so there’s no global setting to expand them all permanently. For the Properties panel specifically, widening the sidebar will sometimes pop items back out of the ⋯. The ⋯ inside layer right-click menus is per-section, so you’ll need to click each one when you need it.

Q6. Frames don’t fit on the screen in presentation mode

When the presentation scale is set to “Actual size (100%),” frames larger than your display will overflow. Open the gear icon at the top of presentation mode and change it to “Fit width and height” — your frame will resize to fit.

The official Scale options are: Actual size (100%) / Responsive / Fit width / Fit width and height / Fill screen — five settings total. Press Z while in presentation mode to cycle through them.

🎯 Wrapping up

Each of the Figma UI tips in this article takes only a couple of seconds to execute — but added up across a working day, knowing them changes how often your focus gets broken. A quick recap of what we covered:

1. Hide the entire UI → environment-dependent (look it up with the ? icon, or run show or hide from the Actions menu)
2. Minimize UI to collapse the left panel + float the right panel → icon at the top of the left sidebar, or the Actions menu; shortcut is layout-dependent (US: Shift + \ / JIS: Ctrl + Shift + @)
3. The left sidebar is built around the File tab and Assets tab — Pages lives inside the File tab
4. The right sidebar is the Properties panel — Design and Prototype, two tabs
5. The overflow menu (⋯) is collapsed by panel width and context — when a command’s missing, search in the Actions menu
6. Presentation mode → Cmd/Ctrl + Option/Alt + Enter, then F for full-screen

When in doubt, the Actions menu (Cmd + K / Ctrl + K) is the fallback. Even if you can’t remember a shortcut, you can find any command by name from there — so memorize the Actions menu first and the rest follows.

If you’re new to Figma after moving from Adobe XD, the UI structure itself takes some time to internalize. Learning the official names — File tab, Assets tab, Properties panel — makes Figma’s official docs and community resources far easier to navigate when you’re looking up something specific.

Related articles

• Adobe XD: A Practical Usage Guide — for XD users, useful as a counterpart for understanding XD vs. Figma UI
• Migrating from Adobe XD to Figma — A Practical Guide — the whole migration process