Symbols. What are they good for?

[atlasc27015142]

Having so many problems with symbols.

I would like to be able to create components which are reusable across different artboards by way of symbols.

But as soon as I edit an instance of a symbol it either updates it across all instances of the symbol without me right-clicking > Update all symbols or it won't update all instances of the symbol if I make a change and Update all symbols.

It's so inconsistent and generally very hard to use as to be useless as a function at this stage.

Anybody else having the same level of problems with symbols?

It's pretty fundamental too as XD is meant to be for UI design and this means having repeatable components. If we have to manually duplicate components and edit each one because the symbols function doesnt work properly this is a very backwards way of working.

A.

[Preran]

Hi A,

I am sorry if I am misreading your question, but are you talking of Symbol Overrides? Override text or image fill on a specific instance of a reusable symbol – Adobe XD Feedback : Featur...

There's also another request that may interest you Find & Replace to confirm other overrides when "Update All Symbols" – Adobe XD Feedback : Feature Re...

If both of these are not what you are aiming for, I suggest creating a feature request on Adobe XD Uservoice. Adobe XD Feedback : Feature Requests & Bugs Before you post, do ensure that you search for any similar requests and vote for them.

Thanks,

Preran

[Dan Rodney · Accepted solution]

All instances of a symbol are supposed to instantly update when you update the original definition of the symbol. One exception to that is text. If you update text in a symbol, XD will only change that current instance of the symbol, because it considers that to be an override. If you want to update all symbols with that text change, you must right-click on the text and choose Update all Symbols.