SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an open standard, or, since version 1.1, a family of open standards for two-dimensional vector graphics. It is based on XML and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Since the original (primary) purpose of SVG was usage for static and dynamic vector graphics for the web, only a subset of the specification(s) is relevant for use in Scribus. The huge success of SVG resulted in considerations to expand its scope to a universal 2D vector format, and “universal” includes support for professional printing, which is all the more interesting for Scribus. The broadened scope of the standard, however, made it necessary to define subsets of SVG, called “profiles.” As of version 1.1, two profiles have been defined, SVG Tiny for devices like mobile phones and SVG Basic for devices like PDAs. The W3C Working Draft for SVG 1.2 also includes a profile called SVG::Print, which provides the features required by professional printers. The SVG 1.2 draft also included support for other color spaces than sRGB, like CMYK or even spot colors. However, 1.2 will probably be skipped in favor of SVG 2.0, which may take some time to develop.
The major advantage of SVG is its openness and the availabilty of the full specification with no strings attached. As a result, SVGs have become ubiquitous in many areas like cartography or geo services. Most vector graphics available via Wikimedia are also SVG files.
Another advantage of SVG is its XML base. In other words, SVG files, like Scribus SLA files, consist of plain text, which can be easily read by other programs or even human beings.
SVG is also more or less well-supported by many vector drawing programs, including Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. The leading Open Source vector drawing program Inkscape is even primarily designed as an SVG editor.
Unlike many other graphics formats, SVG supports color management by referencing an ICC profile in its XML code.
As with other vector formats, SVG files can either be opened directly via File > Open or imported into an existing Scribus document via File > Import > Get Vector File.
Scribus will often display a warning, which tells you that not all SVG features in the file are supported by Scribus. In most cases you need not worry about the warning, as many SVG features are irrelevant for import into Scribus. For example, the SVG specification allows for the inclusion of metadata. Since an SVG file will be converted into native Scribus vector curves, this information will be discarded, but it nevertheless triggers the warning. More serious issues may arise if an SVG files uses so-called “proprietary” tags, i.e., features that are missing in the SVG specification, but were deemed necessary by the creator of the program that writes the SVG. Based on experience, though, almost all SVGs will be imported at a reasonably good quality.
Although Scribus supports most of the relevant features of the SVG 1.0 and 1.1 specifications, there are a few limitations, some of which are the result of SVG itself, while others are based on Scribus internals.
icc-color
tag to detect CMYK colors, but it imports those colors “as is”, without taking into account a referenced color profile. Spot colors in SVG files are not supported, as the SVG specification requires the use of named color profiles.