Shared XD Libraries: Free Adobe XD Tutorial

Topics Covered in This Adobe XD Tutorial:

Publishing a Library, Using an XD Library

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

In this exercise, you'll master one of Adobe XD's most powerful collaboration features: shared libraries. This capability allows you to maintain design consistency across multiple documents while enabling seamless collaboration with team members. You'll learn to create, publish, and leverage reusable assets—including colors, character styles, and components—that automatically sync across projects and team members' workstations. This workflow is essential for maintaining brand consistency and accelerating design iterations in professional environments.

Publishing a Library

Shared cloud libraries represent a cornerstone of modern design system management. When you publish a library, you create a single source of truth that ensures design consistency across your entire team. The real power lies in the automatic propagation of updates—when you modify the original library, every file using those assets receives the updates instantly, eliminating the tedious process of manually updating designs across multiple documents.

1. In Adobe XD, go to File > Open from Your Computer or hit Cmd–Shift–O (Mac) or CTRL–Shift–O (Windows).
2. Navigate into Desktop > Class Files > Adobe XD Class > Libraries and double–click on Pulse Design System.xd to open it.

3. For you to share a library it must be a cloud document. This requirement ensures seamless synchronization across devices and team members. Do File > Save As and:

   • The Save As name should already be Pulse Design System
   • Click Save.
4. If the Libraries panel is not open, at the bottom left of the window click the icon.
5. At the top right of the Libraries panel, click the Publish as a library button .
6. Under Current File, to the far right of Pulse Design System click Publish.

7. A window where you can invite people will appear. This collaboration hub is where you establish your team's access permissions. If you're working with a team, this is where you'd invite others to use this library. You can define granular permissions—whether team members can merely view assets or have full editing capabilities to modify the design system.

   We won't need to invite anyone now, so close the window so you're back in your main XD file.

Using a Published Library

Now that we have established our shared library, let's explore how to leverage it across different projects. This workflow demonstrates the practical benefits of design systems in real-world scenarios.

1. Go to File > Open from Your Computer or hit Cmd–Shift–O (Mac) or CTRL–Shift–O (Windows).
2. Navigate into Desktop > Class Files > Adobe XD Class > Libraries and double–click on Women.xd to open it.
3. If the Libraries panel is not open, at the bottom left of the window click the icon.
4. At the top left of the Libraries panel, click the arrow to go back to libraries.
5. In the list of libraries, click on Pulse Design System.
6. You can now access all assets from the shared library. Drag the navbar component to the top of the artboard to see how components maintain their properties and behaviors across documents.
7. Select the New Autumn Attire text.
8. In the Libraries panel click on the Heading character style to apply it. Notice how the text instantly adopts all the typographic properties defined in your design system.
9. Select the text cozy women's styles for the fall season
10. In the Libraries panel click on the subeading character style to apply it.
11. At the top left of the Libraries panel, click the arrow to go back to libraries.

12. In the list of libraries, click on Document Assets.

    Here you can see the assets within this file. Notice they are all linked (to the shared library). This linked relationship is crucial—it ensures that any updates to the source library will be reflected in this document.

13. Go into the Window menu and choose Pulse Design System to switch back to that file.
14. Double–click on the navbar's background color.
15. In the Libraries panel, click on the dark brown color #704738 to change the navbar's background color.

16. At the bottom of the window in the blue bar that appears click Update now. This action publishes your changes to all linked documents. If you missed the blue bar and it went away:

    • At the top right of the Libraries panel, click the Publish as a library button .
    • Under Current File, to the far right of Pulse Design System click Update.
    • Close the Libraries window so you're back in the Adobe XD file.
17. Do a File > Save.
18. Go into the Window menu and choose Women to switch back to that file.
19. In the Libraries panel you should see the link icon to the right of navbar is now a blue circle (it may take a moment for it to register). This blue indicator signals that an update is available from the source library. If you still don't see the change after a while, try closing the Women.xd file (save the changes) and re-opening it.
20. In the Libraries panel hover over the navbar's blue circle link icon to see the new navbar previewed on the artboard. This preview feature allows you to evaluate changes before committing to them.

21. Click the blue circle link icon to update the component.

    NOTE: If you do not want to accept the change, you'd CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the component and choose Make local. However, exercise caution with this option—breaking the link means this asset will no longer receive updates when the shared library is modified, potentially leading to design inconsistencies across your project.

22. We're done with this exercise, but read on to learn about managing published libraries—a crucial skill for design system governance.

Managing Libraries from Within Adobe XD

Effective library management is essential for maintaining design system integrity and team collaboration. Adobe XD provides robust controls for governing access and permissions directly within the interface.

1. When viewing a shared library in the Libraries panel of XD (NOT Document Assets), at the top right of the Libraries panel click the Invite to Library button .

2. In the window that opens:

   • If you don't automatically see the Invite options, hover over the library's name and to the right click the ••• button and choose Invite people.
   • You can add new people and assign appropriate permission levels based on their role in your design process.
   • To revoke access click a member's Can view or Can edit menu to the right of their name and choose Remove. This is particularly important when team members change roles or leave the organization.

Managing Libraries from Adobe Creative Cloud App

For comprehensive library management, the Adobe Creative Cloud app provides additional administrative capabilities. This centralized approach is particularly valuable for design managers overseeing multiple libraries and team members.

1. Launch Adobe Creative Cloud app.
2. At the top left, click on the Files tab.
3. On the left, click on Your libraries.

4. Here you can perform comprehensive library management tasks:

   • CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on a library and choose what you want to do (Invite people, Delete, etc.). This context menu provides quick access to all administrative functions.
   • Click on a library to see its contents and monitor asset usage across your organization. This visibility is crucial for understanding which design system components are most valuable to your team.