How to select layers with keyboard in Figma on Mac: Enter, Tab and Option Space steps

Before you start: how keyboard selection works in Figma

Figma's keyboard controls are on by default. Figma says you cannot switch them off, so there is no setting to find. You do not need a plugin either. Open a file in the Figma desktop app on your Mac and the keys work.

Keyboard selection is a tree walk. A file holds frames, frames hold groups, and groups hold shapes and text. Enter moves down the tree, Shift+Enter moves up, and Tab moves across the branch you are in. Each key press changes the selection, so watch the outline after every press.

Some tasks still need a mouse or trackpad. Figma's help article says some functionality can only be done that way. Keep your trackpad nearby for drawing, resizing and anything the keys skip.

Why keyboard selection matters to more people than you expect

The CDC reports that more than 1 in 4 US adults, over 70 million people, had a disability in 2022. Keyboard access matters for a large group of people. Learning Figma's keyboard support is worth the time, even if you have never needed it.

A 2013 WebAIM survey collected 216 valid responses from people with low vision. Of those, 47.5% said they always or often use a keyboard to navigate web pages. That survey covers websites, not Figma, so treat it as background, not as a Figma figure.

Select a child layer and move between siblings

Most keyboard selection starts with a parent. Click a frame or group first. Press Enter to step down into its children. Press Tab to move sideways to the next layer in the same parent.

Siblings are layers that share a parent. In a card, the image, title and body text are siblings. Tab moves through them one at a time, and Shift+Tab goes back. Tab never leaves the parent, so you still need Shift+Enter for that.

Worked example: select only the label inside a button

Say you have a card frame. Inside it sit an image, a title, a body text and a button group. The button group holds a background rectangle and a text label. You want the label, and nothing else.

Click the card frame. Press Enter to step into a child. Press Tab until the button group is selected, then press Enter to step inside it. Press Tab once more to move from the background to the label.

If you go one level too deep, press Shift+Enter to climb back to the button group. Then use Tab and Enter until the label is the only layer selected. Check the outline before you move on.

The common slip is pressing Tab on the card frame and expecting it to walk into the button. Tab only moves between siblings at the same level. Use Enter to go down and Shift+Enter to go up.

Box select from the keyboard with Option Space

Box select is for layers that are spread out. Press Option Space to start it. A pink cursor appears. Arrow keys move the cursor. Return or Enter selects what it covers. Esc closes the tool.

Box select also works with Command. Hold Command and press the arrow keys to draw a box. Keep holding Command to resize it. Dragging with the mouse while holding Command draws the same box.

Think before you press Return. Once you confirm, changing the set takes more keys. If the pick is wrong, press Esc and start again. Esc is a safe reset.

Select matching layers and select all with Command A

Option Command A selects matching layers. Select one layer first, then press the shortcut. Figma selects the other layers that match it. The toolbar has a button with the same name if the key fails.

Figma's slide deck article says this feature requires edit access. If you only have view access, the shortcut and the button will not work for you. Ask the file owner for edit access.

Command A is different. It selects all. Use Command A when you want every layer, and use Option Command A when you want every layer that matches one you picked. Mixing up the two is a common slip.

Invert the selection and clear it

Command Shift A inverts the selection. Layers that were selected become unselected, and the others become selected. Figma documents this in its slide deck article. Test it in a regular design file before you rely on it.

Esc clears the selection. It also closes box select. If you lose track of where you are in the tree, press Esc once and start again from the parent.

Find every shortcut in Figma's keyboard panel

Figma keeps a shortcuts panel. Click Help and resources in the bottom-right corner, then choose Keyboard shortcuts. On Mac, Control Shift ? opens the same panel.

Use the panel as a reference. Figma's pages do not always agree on every key, so check the panel when a key seems to behave differently from this guide.

Quick reference for the keys

What Figma's sources do not tell you

The sources behind this page do not name a Figma desktop version for these keys. The steps are not tied to a build number, so check them in your own copy of the app. If a key does nothing, the troubleshooting list covers the usual causes.

Desktop and browser differences for selection are not stated. The desktop app adds F6 and Control F6 to move between top-level areas of the interface. That is the only desktop-specific navigation key the sources list.

Shift+Enter appears on the Select layers and objects page, but not in the keyboard article. The steps include it because the first page documents it. Test it yourself to be sure.

Where the selection commands live in the menus

Some selection commands sit in menus. The slide deck article lists Main menu > Edit > Select all with. The options include Properties, Fill, Stroke, Effect, Text properties, Font, Instance and Variant. No shortcut is listed for that path.

Figma's help pages are not consistent about this. The Select layers and objects article places Select all with under Edit, but it also refers to File. If the item is missing, check both menus.

Option Command A does nothing: the usual cause

The most common complaint is that Option Command A does nothing. A Figma Community thread from July 2025 describes this on macOS Sequoia. The toolbar button worked, but the shortcut did not.

Figma staff suggested restarting Figma and checking for a system shortcut conflict. The original poster found a screen-capture app that used the same keys. Change or turn off that shortcut in the other app, then try again.

Mistakes people make with keyboard selection

• Expecting arrow keys to move a layer. With nothing selected, arrow keys pan the canvas instead.
• Using Tab to climb out of a group. Tab moves across siblings only. Use Shift+Enter to go up.
• Mixing up Command A and Option Command A. One selects all, the other selects matching layers.
• Pressing Return in box select before checking the pink cursor. Esc resets the tool without a selection.
• Skipping the mouse for every task. Some functions still need a mouse or trackpad.

Make the keys stick: a short practice routine

Pick one frame with a few groups inside. Use Enter to go down, Shift+Enter to go up, and Tab to move across. Press Esc to reset whenever you lose your place. Repeat the walk until the keys feel automatic.

Then add box select. Draw a box with Option Space, then with Command and the arrow keys. Compare the two. Keep the method that feels faster for the layers you work on most.

What to do after your layers are selected

Selection is the first step in many jobs. You might group layers, add auto layout or turn a set of layers into a component. Read how to add auto layout in Figma on Mac or how to create a component in Figma on Mac next.