Illustrator v29.2.1 creating invalid SVGs

[stitchsds]

SVG Issues (Jan 17 2025)

Adobe Illustrator v28.7.1 created valid SVGs. v29.2.1 creates invalid SVGs. It looks like the xmlns:xlink section of the <SVG version> element is duplicated for v29.2.1, but okay for v28.7.1. Unfortunately, I had auto-update turned on.

Is there a fix for this other than manually editing every SVG I create?

Corrected Header

<svg version="1.1" id="Text" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px"

viewBox="0 0 386.14 200.57" enable-background="new 0 0 386.14 200.57" xml:space="preserve">

Incorrect Header (v29.2.1)

<svg version="1.1" id="Text" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewBox="0 0 386.14 200.57"  enable-background="new 0 0 386.14 200.57" xml:space="preserve">

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @stitchsds,

Thanks for reporting this. The team has checked but hasn’t been able to reproduce the issue on an internal build of an upcoming version (not yet publicly available). However, since the duplication may depend on specific content or features in your file, could you share a sample .ai file where this occurs? That would help us investigate further.

Also, just to confirm—are you specifically selecting SVG 1.1 as the profile while exporting, or does the issue persist regardless of the profile used?

Looking forward to your response!

Best,

Anshul Saini

[stitchsds]

If I create an SVGs from AI files created in v29.2.1, the SVGs are valid.

SVGs modified and exported from Illustrator 29.2.1, but were originally created in older versions of Illustrator are invalid.

If I create an AI file from an older SVG, make changes, then re-export into SVG, those SVGs are also invalid.

And yes, SVG 1.1 is selected.

I have uploaded a selection of test files for you to see. This system did not let me upload a ZIP file.

[Thomas Böttiger]

I have the same isue, but when exporting as SVG 1.0 (SVG 1.1 is rendered incompletely by the editor) from AI 29.2.1. The issue does not exist with previous versions (29.1). An example is attached.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @stitchsds & @Thomas Böttiger,

Thanks for sharing these details! The product team has investigated this but hasn’t been able to reproduce the issue when selecting SVG 1.1 in Illustrator 29.x. Could you clarify if the original document was created with SVG 1.1 in Illustrator 28.x?

We did find one way to reproduce a similar issue:

1. Create a new document.
2. Draw a shape.
3. Go to File > Save As.
4. In SVG Options, select SVG Profile: SVG 1.0.
5. Close the document.
6. Open the generated SVG.
7. Draw another shape.
8. Press CMD+S (Save).
   
   

If this matches your workflow, let us know! Additionally, if possible, please upload the original Illustrator (.ai) file to Google Drive and share the link here. That would help us investigate further.

Looking forward to your response!

Best,
Anshul Saini

[Thomas Böttiger]

After updating to Illustrator 29.3 the error disappeared.

Step 6 in the above mentioned process did not work, as Illustrator considered the file as damaged and could not reopen it after I saved it as SVG 1.0.

Buter now everything is fine again. 🙂

[stitchsds]

The error does not disappear with v29.3. 

As long as the file you are starting out with is already an SVG, saving the SVG again results in the same duplicated header content as listed above. And yes, we have always saved out as SVG v1.1.

[stitchsds]

Yes, SVG 1.1 has always been the SVG Profile we've used.

[Thomas Böttiger]

I found that it works fine if you keep the original AI around, make changes there and then export as SVG. You might even create a new AI and copy&paste the SVG content. But reusing an SVG by opening and editing results in a broken file after exporting...

[stitchsds]

Yes, if you happen to have the original AI file, you can re-export to an SVG and that extra code bit isn't added. The problem is when you are updating an existing SVG file. Saving out as a new SVG duplicates that bit of code, invalidating the file.

AEM Guides only uses the SVGs, so the "original" AI file isn't in the repository. Saving the SVG as an AI to make the change doesn't work. I've tried that, and the SVG text in the header remains and is duplicated the next time an SVG is saved out. AI v29.3 still duplicates the SVG text code.

[Thomas Böttiger]

So I tried a bit more: opening existing SVGs, editing them and saving as SVG 1.1 works. Whereas saving existing SVGs as SVG 1.0 does not.

Using fresh AI files and saving from there as SVG 1.0 works. So basically roundtripping with SVG 1.0 is boken.