Skip to content

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

fpdf2 supports basic conversion of SVG paths into PDF paths, which can be inserted into an existing PDF document or used as the contents of a new PDF document.

Not all SVGs will convert correctly. Please see the list of unsupported features for more information about what to look out for.

Basic usage

SVG files can be directly inserted inside a PDF file using the image() method:

from fpdf import FPDF

pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.image("vector.svg")
pdf.output("doc-with-svg.pdf")

Either the embedded .svg file must includes width and/or height attributes (absolute or relative), or some dimensions must be provided to .image() through its w= and/or h= parameters.

Detailed example

The following script will create a PDF that consists only of the graphics contents of the provided SVG file, filling the whole page:

import fpdf

svg = fpdf.svg.SVGObject.from_file("my_file.svg")

pdf = fpdf.FPDF(unit="pt", format=(svg.width, svg.height))
pdf.add_page()
svg.draw_to_page(pdf)

pdf.output("my_file.pdf")

Because this takes the PDF document size from the source SVG, it does assume that the width/height of the SVG are specified in absolute units rather than relative ones (i.e. the top-level <svg> tag has something like width="5cm" and not width=50%). In this case, if the values are percentages, they will be interpreted as their literal numeric value (i.e. 100% would be treated as 100 pt). The next example uses transform_to_page_viewport, which will scale an SVG with a percentage based width to the pre-defined PDF page size.

The converted SVG object can be returned as an fpdf.drawing.GraphicsContext collection of drawing directives for more control over how it is rendered:

import fpdf

svg = fpdf.svg.SVGObject.from_file("my_file.svg")

pdf = FPDF(unit="in", format=(8.5, 11))
pdf.add_page()

# We pass align_viewbox=False because we want to perform positioning manually
# after the size transform has been computed.
width, height, paths = svg.transform_to_page_viewport(pdf, align_viewbox=False)
# note: transformation order is important! This centers the svg drawing at the
# origin, rotates it 90 degrees clockwise, and then repositions it to the
# middle of the output page.
paths.transform = paths.transform @ fpdf.drawing.Transform.translation(
    -width / 2, -height / 2
).rotate_d(90).translate(pdf.w / 2, pdf.h / 2)

pdf.draw_path(paths)

pdf.output("my_file.pdf")

Supported SVG Features

  • groups
  • paths
  • basic shapes (rect, circle, ellipse, line, polyline, polygon)
  • basic cross-references
  • stroke & fill coloring and opacity
  • basic stroke styling
  • Inline CSS styling via style="..." attributes.

Currently Unsupported Notable SVG Features

Everything not listed as supported is unsupported, which is a lot. SVG is a ridiculously complex format that has become increasingly complex as it absorbs more of the entire browser rendering stack into its specification. However, there are some pretty commonly used features that are unsupported that may cause unexpected results (up to and including a normal-looking SVG rendering as a completely blank PDF). It is very likely that off-the-shelf SVGs will not be converted fully correctly without some preprocessing.

In addition to that:

  • text/tspan/textPath
  • symbols
  • markers
  • patterns
  • gradients
  • a lot of attributes
  • embedded images or other content (including nested SVGs)
  • CSS styling via <style> tags or external *.css files.