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SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics, a XML based format) can be converted to the PDF format at runtime by ConTeXt MkIV (LuaTeX), provided you have Inkscape installed as below.

Supported vector graphics formats of MkII/MKIV are MetaPost (and MetaFun).

There is a workaround, though, using Inkscape to convert SVG to PDF. Inkscape must be installed and callable (i.e. in your PATH):

\setupexternalfigures[location=local,directory=.,conversion=pdf] % lowres,prefix=lowres/]

\starttext

\externalfigure[svg/sample.svg][frame=on]

\stoptext

ConTeXt and Inkscape

Inkscape changed its command line interface in version 1.0. As a consequence, if you use an old version of ConTeXt and you have Inkscape 1.0 or newer installed, the conversion from SVG to PDF fails.

Newer versions of ConTeXt (since May 7th, 2020) will detect Inkscape's version and manage to convert SVG to PDF anyway. But it's a temporary workaround, until version 1.0 of Inkscape gets widespread, because version detection has a performance cost.

LMTX and SVG

LMTX uses MetaPost (MetaFun) to process SVG directly; a third-party tool, such as Inkscape, is no longer needed. Using MetaPost to process SVG opens many opportunities. It's a work in progress and not every SVG feature is supported. If you encounter issues, send a question to the mailing list.

See the LMTX distribution documentation, svg-lmtx.pdf and luametafun.pdf, for more details.

Text Rendering

Pixel-perfect rendering of SVG text elements may not align as desired in all cases. To work around any layout issues, convert the text to a path. This can be accomplished in Inkscape as follows:

  1. Open the SVG file.
  2. Select all text elements.
  3. Click Path > Object to Path.
  4. Save the SVG file.

Rebuild the document again, the text elements will now be placed correctly.

General information on SVG:

Specs and References

Tutorials and Examples

Community

Note: The original links no longer work so the above are from the Wayback Machine. It may be better to remove this section completely.

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