A path represents the outline of a shape which can be filled or stroked. A path can also be used as a clipping path, to describe animation, or position text. A path can be used for more than one of these functions at the same time. (See Filling, Stroking and Paint Servers, Clipping and Masking, Animation ('animateMotion'), and Text on a Path.)
A path is described using the concept of a current point. In an analogy with drawing on paper, the current point can be thought of as the location of the pen. The position of the pen can be changed, and the outline of a shape (open or closed) can be traced by dragging the pen in either straight lines or curves.
Paths represent the geometry of the outline of an object, defined in terms of moveto (set a new current point), bearing (set a new orientation), lineto (draw a straight line), curveto (draw a curve using a cubic Bézier), arc (elliptical or circular arc) and closepath (close the current shape by connecting to the last moveto) commands. Compound paths (i.e., a path with multiple subpaths) are possible to allow effects such as "donut holes" in objects.
This chapter describes the syntax, behavior and DOM interfaces for SVG paths. Various implementation notes for SVG paths can be found in ‘path’ element implementation Notes and Elliptical arc implementation notes.
A path is defined in SVG using the ‘path’ element.
The basic shapes are all described in terms of what their equivalent path is, which is what their shape is as a path. (The equivalent path of a ‘path’ element is simply the path itself.)
Name | Value | Initial value | Animatable |
---|---|---|---|
d | svg-path [EBNF] | (none) | yes |
The definition of the outline of a shape. See Path data. Error processing for svg-path is done according to Path Data Error Handling.
Path data animation is only possible when each path data specification within an animation specification has exactly the same list of path data commands as the ‘d’ attribute. If an animation is specified and the list of path data commands is not the same, then the animation specification is in error (see Error Handling). The animation engine interpolates each parameter to each path data command separately based on the attributes to the given animation element. Flags and booleans are interpolated as fractions between zero and one, with any non-zero value considered to be a value of one/true.
The initial value, (none) indicates that the path element is valid but does not render.
Name | Value | Initial value | Animatable |
---|---|---|---|
pathLength | <number> | (none) | yes |
The author's computation of the total length of the path, in user units. This value is used to calibrate the user agent's own distance-along-a-path calculations with that of the author. The user agent will scale all distance-along-a-path computations by the ratio of ‘pathLength’ to the user agent's own computed value for total path length. ‘pathLength’ potentially affects calculations for text on a path, motion animation and various stroke operations.
A negative value is an error (see Error handling).
SVG 2 Requirement: | Support turtle-graphics-like current rotation in path syntax. |
---|---|
Resolution: | We will add a path rotation command. |
Purpose: | Make path rotations easier to animate and pie charts easier to draw. |
Owner: | Cameron (ACTION-3125) |
A path is defined by including a ‘path’ element which contains a d="(path data)" attribute, where the ‘d’ attribute contains the moveto, bearing, lineto, curveto (both cubic and quadratic Béziers), arc and closepath instructions.
Example triangle01 specifies a path in the shape of a triangle. (The M indicates a moveto, the Ls indicate linetos, and the z indicates a closepath).
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <svg width="4cm" height="4cm" viewBox="0 0 400 400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>Example triangle01- simple example of a 'path'</title> <desc>A path that draws a triangle</desc> <rect x="1" y="1" width="398" height="398" fill="none" stroke="blue" /> <path d="M 100 100 L 300 100 L 200 300 z" fill="red" stroke="blue" stroke-width="3" /> </svg>
Path data can contain newline characters and thus can be broken up into multiple lines to improve readability. Newlines inside attributes in markup will be normalized to space characters while parsing.
The syntax of path data is concise in order to allow for minimal file size and efficient downloads, since many SVG files will be dominated by their path data. Some of the ways that SVG attempts to minimize the size of path data are as follows:
The path data syntax is a prefix notation (i.e., commands followed by parameters). The only allowable decimal point is a Unicode U+0046 FULL STOP (".") character (also referred to in Unicode as PERIOD, dot and decimal point) and no other delimiter characters are allowed [UNICODE]. (For example, the following is an invalid numeric value in a path data stream: "13,000.56". Instead, say: "13000.56".)
For the relative versions of the commands, all coordinate values are relative to the current point at the start of the command.
Relative path commands are also influenced by the current bearing, which is an angle set by the bearing commands. This allows for paths to be specified using a style of "turtle graphics", where straight line and curved path segments are placed with their starting point at a tangent (or at some other angle) to the current bearing.
In the tables below, the following notation is used to describe the syntax of a given path command:
In the description of the path commands, cpx and cpy represent the coordinates of the current point, and cb represents the current bearing.
The following sections list the commands. Those that draw straight line segments include the lineto commands (L, l, H, h, V and v) and the close path commands (Z and z). These three groups of commands draw curves:
The "moveto" commands (M or m) establish a new current point. The effect is as if the "pen" were lifted and moved to a new location. A path data segment (if there is one) must begin with a "moveto" command. Subsequent "moveto" commands (i.e., when the "moveto" is not the first command) represent the start of a new subpath:
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
M (absolute) m (relative) |
moveto | (x y)+ | Start a new sub-path at the given (x,y) coordinates. M (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; m (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. If a moveto is followed by multiple pairs of coordinates, the subsequent pairs are treated as implicit lineto commands. Hence, implicit lineto commands will be relative if the moveto is relative, and absolute if the moveto is absolute. If a relative moveto (m) appears as the first element of the path, then it is treated as a pair of absolute coordinates. In this case, subsequent pairs of coordinates are treated as relative even though the initial moveto is interpreted as an absolute moveto. |
When a relative m command is used, the position moved to is (cpx + x cos cb + y sin cb, cpy + x sin cb + y cos cb).
The "closepath" (Z or z) ends the current subpath by connecting it back to its initial point in either of two ways:
complete, that is that all the required coordinate data has been supplied, then an automatic straight line is drawn from the current point to the initial point of the current subpath. This path segment may be of zero length.
Examples:
SVG 2 adds the ability to fill in missing coordinate data with the Z or z command to avoid the need to add a zero length (or very short in the case of relative paths with rounding errors) path segment to close a subpath. This can effect the number of markers drawn and their orientation at the beginning/end of a closed subpath.
The use of Z or z to replace missing coordinate data with the coordinate of the initial point in a subpath was resolved at the Sydney (2015) meeting.
If a "closepath" is followed immediately by a "moveto", then the "moveto" identifies the start point of the next subpath. If a "closepath" is followed immediately by any other command, then the next subpath starts at the same initial point as the current subpath.
When a subpath ends in a "closepath," it differs in behavior
from what happens when "manually" closing a subpath via a
"lineto" command in how ‘stroke-linejoin
’
and ‘stroke-linecap
’ are implemented. With "closepath", the end of the final segment
of the subpath is "joined" with the start of the initial
segment of the subpath using the current value of ‘stroke-linejoin
’.
If you instead "manually" close the subpath via a "lineto"
command, the start of the first segment and the end of the last
segment are not joined but instead are each capped using the
current value of ‘stroke-linecap
’.
At the end of the command, the new current point is set to the
initial point of the current subpath.
The current bearing does not affect a z command.
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Z or z |
closepath | (none) | Close the current subpath by connecting it back to the current subpath's initial point (see prose above). Since the Z and z commands take no parameters, they have an identical effect. |
The various "lineto" commands draw straight lines from the current point to a new point:
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
L (absolute) l (relative) |
lineto | (x y)+ | Draw a line from the current point to the given (x,y) coordinate which becomes the new current point. L (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; l (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. A number of coordinates pairs may be specified to draw a polyline. At the end of the command, the new current point is set to the final set of coordinates provided. |
H (absolute) h (relative) |
horizontal lineto | x+ | Draws a horizontal line from the current point. H (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; h (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple x values can be provided (although usually this doesn't make sense). An H or h command is equivalent to an L or l command with 0 specified for the y coordinate. At the end of the command, the new current point is taken from the final coordinate value. |
V (absolute) v (relative) |
vertical lineto | y+ | Draws a vertical line from the current point. V (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; v (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple y values can be provided (although usually this doesn't make sense). A V or v command is equivalent to an L or l command with 0 specified for the x coordinate. At the end of the command, the new current point is taken from the final coordinate value. |
When a relative l command is used, the end point of the line is (cpx + x cos cb + y sin cb, cpy + x sin cb + y cos cb).
When a relative h command is used, the end point of the line is (cpx + x cos cb, cpy + x sin cb). This means that an h command with a positive x value draws a line in the direction of the current bearing. When the current bearing is 0, this is a horizontal line in the direction of the positive x-axis.
When there is a non-zero bearing, a mnemonic for the h command could be "head this distance at the current bearing", rather than "draw a horizontal line".
When a relative v command is used, the end point of the line is (cpx + y sin cb, cpy + y cos cb).
The cubic Bézier commands are as follows:
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
C (absolute) c (relative) |
curveto | (x1 y1 x2 y2 x y)+ | Draws a cubic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y) using (x1,y1) as the control point at the beginning of the curve and (x2,y2) as the control point at the end of the curve. C (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; c (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier. |
S (absolute) s (relative) |
shorthand/smooth curveto | (x2 y2 x y)+ | Draws a cubic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y). The first control point is assumed to be the reflection of the second control point on the previous command relative to the current point. (If there is no previous command or if the previous command was not an C, c, S or s, assume the first control point is coincident with the current point.) (x2,y2) is the second control point (i.e., the control point at the end of the curve). S (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; s (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier. |
When a relative c or s command is used, each of the relative coordinate pairs is computed as for those in an m command. For example, the final control point of the curve of both commands is (cpx + x cos cb + y sin cb, cpy + x sin cb + y cos cb).
Example cubic01 shows some simple uses of cubic Bézier commands within a path. The example uses an internal CSS style sheet to assign styling properties. Note that the control point for the "S" command is computed automatically as the reflection of the control point for the previous "C" command relative to the start point of the "S" command.
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <svg width="5cm" height="4cm" viewBox="0 0 500 400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>Example cubic01- cubic Bézier commands in path data</title> <desc>Picture showing a simple example of path data using both a "C" and an "S" command, along with annotations showing the control points and end points</desc> <style type="text/css"><![CDATA[ .Border { fill:none; stroke:blue; stroke-width:1 } .Connect { fill:none; stroke:#888888; stroke-width:2 } .SamplePath { fill:none; stroke:red; stroke-width:5 } .EndPoint { fill:none; stroke:#888888; stroke-width:2 } .CtlPoint { fill:#888888; stroke:none } .AutoCtlPoint { fill:none; stroke:blue; stroke-width:4 } .Label { font-size:22; font-family:Verdana } ]]></style> <rect class="Border" x="1" y="1" width="498" height="398" /> <polyline class="Connect" points="100,200 100,100" /> <polyline class="Connect" points="250,100 250,200" /> <polyline class="Connect" points="250,200 250,300" /> <polyline class="Connect" points="400,300 400,200" /> <path class="SamplePath" d="M100,200 C100,100 250,100 250,200 S400,300 400,200" /> <circle class="EndPoint" cx="100" cy="200" r="10" /> <circle class="EndPoint" cx="250" cy="200" r="10" /> <circle class="EndPoint" cx="400" cy="200" r="10" /> <circle class="CtlPoint" cx="100" cy="100" r="10" /> <circle class="CtlPoint" cx="250" cy="100" r="10" /> <circle class="CtlPoint" cx="400" cy="300" r="10" /> <circle class="AutoCtlPoint" cx="250" cy="300" r="9" /> <text class="Label" x="25" y="70">M100,200 C100,100 250,100 250,200</text> <text class="Label" x="325" y="350" style="text-anchor:middle">S400,300 400,200</text> </svg>
The following picture shows some how cubic Bézier curves change their shape depending on the position of the control points. The first five examples illustrate a single cubic Bézier path segment. The example at the lower right shows a "C" command followed by an "S" command.
View
this example as SVG (SVG-enabled browsers only)
The quadratic Bézier commands are as follows:
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Q (absolute) q (relative) |
quadratic Bézier curveto | (x1 y1 x y)+ | Draws a quadratic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y) using (x1,y1) as the control point. Q (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; q (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier. |
T (absolute) t (relative) |
Shorthand/smooth quadratic Bézier curveto | (x y)+ | Draws a quadratic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y). The control point is assumed to be the reflection of the control point on the previous command relative to the current point. (If there is no previous command or if the previous command was not a Q, q, T or t, assume the control point is coincident with the current point.) T (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; t (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier. |
When a relative q or t command is used, each of the relative coordinate pairs is computed as for those in an m command. For example, the final control point of the curve of both commands is (cpx + x cos cb + y sin cb, cpy + x sin cb + y cos cb).
Example quad01 shows some simple uses of quadratic Bézier commands within a path. Note that the control point for the "T" command is computed automatically as the reflection of the control point for the previous "Q" command relative to the start point of the "T" command.
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <svg width="12cm" height="6cm" viewBox="0 0 1200 600" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>Example quad01 - quadratic Bézier commands in path data</title> <desc>Picture showing a "Q" a "T" command, along with annotations showing the control points and end points</desc> <rect x="1" y="1" width="1198" height="598" fill="none" stroke="blue" stroke-width="1" /> <path d="M200,300 Q400,50 600,300 T1000,300" fill="none" stroke="red" stroke-width="5" /> <!-- End points --> <g fill="black" > <circle cx="200" cy="300" r="10"/> <circle cx="600" cy="300" r="10"/> <circle cx="1000" cy="300" r="10"/> </g> <!-- Control points and lines from end points to control points --> <g fill="#888888" > <circle cx="400" cy="50" r="10"/> <circle cx="800" cy="550" r="10"/> </g> <path d="M200,300 L400,50 L600,300 L800,550 L1000,300" fill="none" stroke="#888888" stroke-width="2" /> </svg>
SVG 2 Requirement: | Make it simpler to draw arcs in SVG path syntax. |
---|---|
Resolution: | Make arcs in paths easier. |
Purpose: | To make it easier for authors to write path data with arcs by hand. |
Owner: | Cameron (ACTION-3151) |
The elliptical arc commands are as follows:
Command | Name | Parameters | Description |
---|---|---|---|
A (absolute) a (relative) |
elliptical arc | (rx ry x-axis-rotation large-arc-flag sweep-flag x y)+ | Draws an elliptical arc from the current point to (x, y). The size and orientation of the ellipse are defined by two radii (rx, ry) and an x-axis-rotation, which indicates how the ellipse as a whole is rotated relative to the current coordinate system. The center (cx, cy) of the ellipse is calculated automatically to satisfy the constraints imposed by the other parameters. large-arc-flag and sweep-flag contribute to the automatic calculations and help determine how the arc is drawn. |
When a relative a command is used, the end point of the arc is (cpx + x cos cb + y sin cb, cpy + x sin cb + y cos cb). The effective value of the x-axis-rotation parameter is also affected by the current bearing: it is computed as x-axis-rotation + cb.
Example arcs01 shows some simple uses of arc commands within a path.
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> <svg width="12cm" height="5.25cm" viewBox="0 0 1200 400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"> <title>Example arcs01 - arc commands in path data</title> <desc>Picture of a pie chart with two pie wedges and a picture of a line with arc blips</desc> <rect x="1" y="1" width="1198" height="398" fill="none" stroke="blue" stroke-width="1" /> <path d="M300,200 h-150 a150,150 0 1,0 150,-150 z" fill="red" stroke="blue" stroke-width="5" /> <path d="M275,175 v-150 a150,150 0 0,0 -150,150 z" fill="yellow" stroke="blue" stroke-width="5" /> <path d="M600,350 l 50,-25 a25,25 -30 0,1 50,-25 l 50,-25 a25,50 -30 0,1 50,-25 l 50,-25 a25,75 -30 0,1 50,-25 l 50,-25 a25,100 -30 0,1 50,-25 l 50,-25" fill="none" stroke="red" stroke-width="5" /> </svg>
The elliptical arc command draws a section of an ellipse which meets the following constraints:
For most situations, there are actually four different arcs (two different ellipses, each with two different arc sweeps) that satisfy these constraints. large-arc-flag and sweep-flag indicate which one of the four arcs are drawn, as follows:
The following illustrates the four combinations of large-arc-flag and sweep-flag and the four different arcs that will be drawn based on the values of these flags. For each case, the following path data command was used:
<path d="M 125,75 a100,50 0 ?,? 100,50" style="fill:none; stroke:red; stroke-width:6"/>
where "?,?" is replaced by "0,0" "0,1" "1,0" and "1,1" to generate the four possible cases.
View this example as SVG (SVG-enabled browsers only)
Refer to Elliptical arc implementation notes for detailed implementation notes for the path data elliptical arc commands.
Update for new 'Z'/'z' behavior.
SVG path data matches the following EBNF grammar.
svg-path: wsp* moveto-drawto-command-groups? wsp* moveto-drawto-command-groups: moveto-drawto-command-group | moveto-drawto-command-group wsp* moveto-drawto-command-groups moveto-drawto-command-group: moveto wsp* drawto-commands? drawto-commands: drawto-command | drawto-command wsp* drawto-commands drawto-command: closepath | lineto | horizontal-lineto | vertical-lineto | curveto | smooth-curveto | quadratic-bezier-curveto | smooth-quadratic-bezier-curveto | elliptical-arc | bearing moveto: ( "M" | "m" ) wsp* moveto-argument-sequence moveto-argument-sequence: coordinate-pair | coordinate-pair comma-wsp? lineto-argument-sequence closepath: ("Z" | "z") lineto: ( "L" | "l" ) wsp* lineto-argument-sequence lineto-argument-sequence: coordinate-pair | coordinate-pair comma-wsp? lineto-argument-sequence horizontal-lineto: ( "H" | "h" ) wsp* horizontal-lineto-argument-sequence horizontal-lineto-argument-sequence: coordinate | coordinate comma-wsp? horizontal-lineto-argument-sequence vertical-lineto: ( "V" | "v" ) wsp* vertical-lineto-argument-sequence vertical-lineto-argument-sequence: coordinate | coordinate comma-wsp? vertical-lineto-argument-sequence curveto: ( "C" | "c" ) wsp* curveto-argument-sequence curveto-argument-sequence: curveto-argument | curveto-argument comma-wsp? curveto-argument-sequence curveto-argument: coordinate-pair comma-wsp? coordinate-pair comma-wsp? coordinate-pair smooth-curveto: ( "S" | "s" ) wsp* smooth-curveto-argument-sequence smooth-curveto-argument-sequence: smooth-curveto-argument | smooth-curveto-argument comma-wsp? smooth-curveto-argument-sequence smooth-curveto-argument: coordinate-pair comma-wsp? coordinate-pair quadratic-bezier-curveto: ( "Q" | "q" ) wsp* quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence: quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument | quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument comma-wsp? quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument: coordinate-pair comma-wsp? coordinate-pair smooth-quadratic-bezier-curveto: ( "T" | "t" ) wsp* smooth-quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence smooth-quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence: coordinate-pair | coordinate-pair comma-wsp? smooth-quadratic-bezier-curveto-argument-sequence elliptical-arc: ( "A" | "a" ) wsp* elliptical-arc-argument-sequence elliptical-arc-argument-sequence: elliptical-arc-argument | elliptical-arc-argument comma-wsp? elliptical-arc-argument-sequence elliptical-arc-argument: number comma-wsp? number comma-wsp? number comma-wsp flag comma-wsp? flag comma-wsp? coordinate-pair bearing: ( "B" | "b" ) wsp* bearing-argument-sequence bearing-argument-sequence: number | number comma-wsp? bearing-argument-sequence coordinate-pair: coordinate comma-wsp? coordinate coordinate: number nonnegative-number: integer-constant | floating-point-constant number: sign? integer-constant | sign? floating-point-constant flag: "0" | "1" integer-constant: digit-sequence floating-point-constant: fractional-constant exponent? | digit-sequence exponent fractional-constant: digit-sequence? "." digit-sequence | digit-sequence "." exponent: ( "e" | "E" ) sign? digit-sequence sign: "+" | "-" digit-sequence: digit | digit digit-sequence digit: "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"
The processing of the BNF must consume as much of a given BNF production as possible, stopping at the point when a character is encountered which no longer satisfies the production. Thus, in the string "M 100-200", the first coordinate for the "moveto" consumes the characters "100" and stops upon encountering the minus sign because the minus sign cannot follow a digit in the production of a "coordinate". The result is that the first coordinate will be "100" and the second coordinate will be "-200".
Similarly, for the string "M 0.6.5", the first coordinate of the "moveto" consumes the characters "0.6" and stops upon encountering the second decimal point because the production of a "coordinate" only allows one decimal point. The result is that the first coordinate will be "0.6" and the second coordinate will be ".5".
Note that the BNF allows the path ‘d’ attribute to be empty. This is not an error, instead it disables rendering of the path.
If path data not matching the grammar is encountered, then the path data is in error (see Error Handling).
A conforming SVG user agent must implement path rendering as follows:
stroke-linecap
’ has a value of
round or
square.(newx1, newy1) = (curx - (oldx2 - curx), cury - (oldy2 - cury)) = (2*curx - oldx2, 2*cury - oldy2)
Various operations, including text on a path and motion animation and various stroke operations, require that the user agent compute the distance along the geometry of a graphics element, such as a ‘path’.
Exact mathematics exist for computing distance along a path, but the formulas are highly complex and require substantial computation. It is recommended that authoring products and user agents employ algorithms that produce as precise results as possible; however, to accommodate implementation differences and to help distance calculations produce results that approximate author intent, the ‘pathLength’ attribute can be used to provide the author's computation of the total length of the path so that the user agent can scale distance-along-a-path computations by the ratio of ‘pathLength’ to the user agent's own computed value for total path length.
A "moveto" or "bearing" operation within a ‘path’ element is defined to have zero length. Only the various "lineto", "curveto" and "arcto" commands contribute to path length calculations.
An SVGPathElement object represents a ‘path’ in the DOM.
interface SVGPathElement : SVGGeometryElement { [SameObject] readonly attribute SVGAnimatedNumber pathLength; float getTotalLength(); DOMPoint getPointAtLength(float distance); };
The pathLength IDL attribute reflects the ‘pathLength’ content attribute.
The getTotalLength method is used to compute the length of the path. When getTotalLength() is called, the user agent's computed value for the total length of the path, in user units, is returned.
The user agent's computed path length does not take the ‘pathLength’ attribute into account.
The getPointAtLength method is used to return the point at a given distance along the path. When getPointAtLength(distance) is called, the following steps are run:
As with getTotalLength, this does not take into account the ‘pathLength’ attribute.