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Pham-Vu
Participant
August 22, 2025
Question

Can't "Copy SVG" Layers in Photoshop Anymore - Help!

  • August 22, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 270 views

Hey there, can you help me out?

Normally, I can use the "Copy SVG" feature in Photoshop on any layer and paste it directly into Figma or Illustrator. But ever since I got a new PC and reinstalled Photoshop, I can't copy layers anymore. 

I can still copy SVG from shapes and vectors within Photoshop, but with regular layers, I get this error. When I checked the code, it looks like this: ...
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" width="827px" height="645px"> <image x="0px" y="0px" width="827px" height="645px" xlink:href="data:img/png;base64," /> </svg>

I'm wondering if I'm missing something or if Photoshop changed something in a recent update. It's super inconvenient. I have another laptop that still works fine with the "Copy SVG" feature, so I don't know why it's not working on my PC. I know there are other ways, like exporting the file, but I really prefer the copy-and-paste feature because it's so much more convenient.

I'm using Windows 11 and the latest version of Photoshop. Can anyone help me with this?

 

2 replies

Eugeny Gravis
Eugeny Gravis
Participant
March 24, 2026

I encountered the same issue. I installed the newest, most up-to-date version on both Mac and Windows. The problem appeared on Windows, while everything works fine on Mac (same version). I tried installing an older version, but the issue persisted.

creative explorer
Community Expert
creative explorerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 23, 2025

@Pham-Vu The "Copy SVG" feature was never intended for non-vector layers. It's designed to translate vector data (like shapes, text, or paths) into SVG code, which is a scalable vector format. When you try to use it on a regular layer containing pixels, Photoshop attempts to convert the pixel data into a base64-encoded image and embed it within the SVG file. The reason it works on your old laptop is likely because it's running a slightly older version of Photoshop that doesn't have this specific bug, or it's a version with different internal configurations. Unfortunately, there is no simple setting you can change to fix this on your new PC. Unless, you go back a version or two.

m
    Eugeny Gravis
    Eugeny Gravis
    Participant
    March 24, 2026

    Strange answer... I ran into the same issue, and it’s not related to the Photoshop version, because I’ve tried installing both new and old versionsnothing works.

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