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What is SVG File Format and How to Use it

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SVG file format is now open to all sorts of graphic design activities.

Unlike image formats, SVG file format can be used for any kind of graphic or image processing. With SVG format, you don’t have to know graphics at all, and you can work with the data in any language as well.

With SVG, you can place vector images as backgrounds and insert them on an HTML page in the browser using SVG image element.

Since the introduction of SVG into the web, we can now design and develop multiple graphic design elements like:

  • Drawing Text
  • Drawing Typography
  • Drawing Reusable Graphic Elements

How to Create SVG and What is its Impact on Websites?

SVG format is very flexible. It can be used in different types of data, like typography, shapes and graphics. As the name suggests, SVG is XML which is meant for vector graphics, so they are usually viewed as pretty small graphics.

When we view a vector image on the web, it will always be a flat, pixel-based image. And the code that creates it will have a fixed size.

The effect of these fixed size and lack of zoom is not that pleasing. It means that no information in the image can be scaled using CSS. The pixel-based flat graphics look rather boring, especially when compared to images designed using vector graphics.

Because of this drawback, we need to use additional CSS tools to transform the data.

Because of the dynamic nature of SVG format, we can only use basic CSS features to describe and style our graphics. But if we can get around these limitations, we can create flexible and scalable graphics which can look better than pixel-based graphics.

Let’s begin.

What Is SVG File Format and How to Create It?

SVG is an XML file format. You can open and read XML files and you know that it’s an application programming interface which is a set of rules and instructions for programmers to use an application. The same thing is happening with SVG file format, it is an interface for vector graphics which can be used to design vector graphics in a web browser.

Simply put, it is an XML-based file format with great benefits. To be more specific, SVG file format is a toolkit with well-known graphic elements. But what’s so great about it?

To begin with, let’s talk about how to create SVG file. First of all, it is not difficult. Let’s talk about some important features.

  • It is a subset of XML file format
  • It is an open format
  • It uses the XML language, which is a universal format
  • It can be used to write a lot of different types of graphic elements
  • It is a file format that allows you to represent graphical data as any type of vector graphics

SVG File Format Elements

SVG file format offers certain graphics like Illustrator or Photoshop standard elements such as vectors, lines, ellipse, circles and so on.

With these graphics, we can create a variety of different graphic elements like:

  • Drawing Text
  • Drawing Type
  • Drawing Reusable Graphic Elements

When you work with SVG, you will always use the XML tags such as width and height to create and modify graphics. For example, the width can be set in pixels and the height in pixels or pixels and points. But the SVG syntax uses this information freely to describe your graphics.

All the elements in the SVG file are defined using XML tags. So, if you’re not familiar with SVG, you will find it easier to convert your graphic elements and code using an XML parser. There are plenty of SVG libraries that simplify the process, like SVG-Slim Image Library

SVG-Slim Image Library allows you to work with vector graphics without coding. The library comes with a full set of tools for editing, transforming and decorating your graphics.

It is free and open source and you can use it in most popular web browsers including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and IE8.

To create an SVG image, you can also use online SVG creators such as SVGator. You will find a lot of simple, intuitive tools to create your SVG file. Also, you can animate your SVG files with ease.

Conclusion

SVG file format offers a unique opportunity to create web graphics which can be used on the front-end. It’s free, and open source so there are no limitations.

Plus, there are no limitations because it has been designed with the main purpose of keeping it simple and open for everyone to use.

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