Copy SVG - no image data inside

[Lukasz550]

Hi Photoshop community

I don't know if it's a bug or a problem on my side, so I'm posting on Discussion.

I have a weird problem with copying SVG with rasterized content like this (brush strokes) from Photoshop 25.9 to other software like Figma on Windows 10 22H2. 

When I copy SVG from this menu 

normally I can paste it in Figma and I get the image in the frame

The weird thing is that it works on my home PC, but it doesn't on my work PC. Copied code was supposed to have some image data but on Work PC the code is pretty empty. It's the same PS version, the same PS file and the same Figma project.

Copied code looks like this

<svg 
 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
 xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
 width="1076px" height="398px">
<image  x="0px" y="0px" width="1076px" height="398px"  xlink:href="data:img/png;base64," />
</svg>

Pasted object in Figma "looks" like this. It's empty frame. (No, it's not the same color as background)

I can't show the expected result now, since I'm at work, I will try to add it later.

And that's all. On my home PC it works normally and I have image inside the frame. What could cause this? Is there any setting in the PS that I missed?

The only workaround is saving layers as PNG and importing them manually into Figma, but I found copy SVG option way faster. I don't know if it's related but my work PC is new and system is not yet activated. I tried previous versions of PS and problem still exists. Reinstalls didn't help.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Lumigraphics]

Don't use SVG for raster content, its designed for vector content. Simple. Better yet, use Illustrator for vector content.

[Lukasz550]

I know, but I found this way to be faster way to copy elements from PS to Figma. Weird thing is that it works on one computer and doesn't work on another for some reason.

[defaultujwf615hf96z]

Hi. Did you manage to solve the problem? I faced a similar situation.

[D Fosse]

The solution to the problem is to use the appropriate file format: SVG for vector content, PNG for raster content.

[Lukasz550]

Hi @defaultujwf615hf96z , not really, since I work only on home PC now and this trick works fine here. I think it's some kind of compatibilty problem with system/PS/Figma.

@D Fosse there is no "copy PNG" in PS layer menu while using this method. Of course exporting as png and pasting in Figma is a "proper" way, but it's not as fast as copy SVG trick 😉

[D Fosse]

There's a bigger picture here: SVG is the industry standard for vector files for web. Vector content is what is expected for an SVG everywhere.

If someone building a website is asking for an SVG, they want a vector file. They don't want raster inside an SVG, that's useless.

The problem with outputting raster SVGs from Photoshop is that bad habits spread. Useless files proliferate, causing problems for people trying to do their job. Their time should be respected too.

Allowing SVG into Photoshop was a mistake. They've removed it now, but that's putting toothpaste back in the tube. SVG belongs in Illustrator.