How Do You Do an Overlay in Figma?

September 17, 2023 figma

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create an overlay in Figma using HTML and CSS. Overlays are a great way to add interactivity and visual interest to your website or app. Whether you want to create a modal window, a dropdown menu, or a hover effect, overlays can help you achieve that.

Step 1: HTML Markup

To get started, let's create the HTML markup for our overlay. We will use a div element as the container for our overlay content. Inside the div, we can add any content we want, such as text, images, or other HTML elements.


    Overlay Content
    This is the content of our overlay.

Step 2: CSS Styling

Now let's add some CSS styles to make our overlay appear correctly and bring it to life. We'll start by setting the position property of the overlay container to fixed, which will position it relative to the browser window.

.overlay {
    position: fixed;
    top: 0;
    left: 0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
}

Next, let's give our overlay some background color and set its opacity using the background-color and opacity properties. This will create a semi-transparent layer over the underlying content.overlay { /* .. */ background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); opacity: 0; transition: opacity 0.3s ease-in-out; }

By default, the overlay is hidden with an opacity of 0. We will use JavaScript to toggle the opacity to make it visible or hidden.

Step 3: JavaScript Interactivity

To add interactivity to our overlay, let's use JavaScript to toggle its visibility. We will create a function called toggleOverlay that adds or removes a CSS class from the overlay element.

In this example, we are using the querySelector method to select the overlay element using its class name. Then, we use the classList.toggle method to add or remove the visible class from the overlay element, which will change its opacity and make it visible or hidden.

Step 4: Triggering the Overlay

To trigger our overlay, we need an event that calls our toggleOverlay function. This can be a button click event, a link click event, or any other event you prefer.

In this example, we have added an onclick attribute to a button element that calls our toggleOverlay function when clicked. You can replace this with any other event you want.

Step 5: Final Touches (Optional)

If you want to customize the appearance of your overlay, you can add additional CSS styles to the .overlay.visible class. For example, you can center the overlay vertically and horizontally, change its size, or add animations.visible { opacity: 1; /* Additional styles */ }

Feel free to experiment with different CSS properties and values to achieve the desired effect for your overlay.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have now learned how to create an overlay in Figma using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Overlays are a powerful tool for adding interactivity and visual interest to your website or app. With this knowledge, you can now create various types of overlays such as modals, dropdown menus, tooltips, and more.

Remember to keep experimenting and refining your overlays to create unique and engaging user experiences. Happy coding!