The Problem with Sharing Your Figma Product Manual (And a Better Way to Do It)

Many product and design teams invest heavily in creating beautiful, comprehensive product manuals in Figma. They build with components, perfect the layout, and create a guide that should be the ultimate source of truth. But then comes the most critical step: sharing it. The default habit is to export a PDF and email it, creating a host of hidden problems that undermine all the hard work put into the design.

The Limitations of Exporting and Sending Files

The problem isn't Figma; it's a fantastic creation tool. The friction appears after you export. When you share a product manual as a static file (like a PDF), you immediately lose control and create a broken communication loop.

• Version Hell: The moment you email the file, it's outdated. If you find a typo or update a feature, you have to re-export and resend the file, asking everyone to please use the "new version." This causes confusion and ensures that multiple, conflicting versions of your manual are floating around.
• No Analytics: Did the customer open the manual? Did the new team member read the onboarding guide? Which sections are they spending the most time on? A file gives you zero feedback.
• Poor Mobile Experience: A dense product manual exported as a PDF is often difficult to read on a smartphone. Users are forced to pinch, zoom, and struggle through a format not designed for their device.
• Access Hurdles: Sharing the original Figma file often requires the recipient to have a Figma account and know how to navigate the interface, which is unnecessary friction for a customer or non-designer.

A Better Direction: Link-Based Document Sharing

What if, instead of sending a static file, you could share your product manual using a single, smart web link? This modern approach separates the document from the delivery method, solving the core problems of file-sharing. This method keeps your workflow the same—you still design in Figma—but completely changes the sharing experience. For a seamless transition to this method, you can share what you made in Figma with a link.

How Featpaper Solves the Sharing Problem

Featpaper is a service built to perfect the link-based sharing workflow. You upload your exported document (from Figma, Adobe, PPT, etc.) once, and Featpaper transforms it into a centralized, trackable web link. Here’s how the experience changes:

• Before (File Sharing): Design in Figma -> Export PDF -> Attach to email -> Send. See a mistake? Repeat the entire process.
• After (Link Sharing with Featpaper): Design in Figma -> Upload to Featpaper -> Share one link. See a mistake? Re-upload the new version, and the same link automatically shows the updated content. No need to notify anyone.

Keep your workflow, just change the sharing method. Featpaper allows you to deliver your Figma manuals through a single, trackable link. No more re-sending files, no more wondering if they were opened. See who views your documents and which pages they focus on.

Realistic Usage Scenario: The Product Update

Imagine your team just updated a key feature. Your product manual, designed in Figma, needs a quick update on page 12. The Old Way:

1. You edit the Figma file.
2. You export a new 30MB PDF named Product_Manual_v2.1_FINAL.pdf.
3. You draft an email to all customers, attach the new file, and ask them to delete the old version.
4. A colleague points out another typo. You groan, and the cycle begins again.

The Featpaper Way:

1. You edit the Figma file.
2. You update the document in Featpaper with the new export.
3. You do nothing else. The link your customers already have is now instantly current.
4. You check the Featpaper analytics and notice that only 30% of users have viewed the updated page. You can now send a targeted follow-up to the rest.

This simple shift in sharing methodology transforms your static product manual into a living document. It respects the effort you put into designing it and, more importantly, respects your audience's time and experience. Change How You Share Figma Documents