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SVG <path>


SVG Path - <path>

The <path> element is used to define a path.

The following commands are available for path data:

  • M = moveto
  • L = lineto
  • H = horizontal lineto
  • V = vertical lineto
  • C = curveto
  • S = smooth curveto
  • Q = quadratic Bézier curve
  • T = smooth quadratic Bézier curveto
  • A = elliptical Arc
  • Z = closepath

Note: All of the commands above can also be expressed with lower letters. Capital letters means absolutely positioned, lower cases means relatively positioned.


Example 1

The example below defines a path that starts at position 150,0 with a line to position 75,200 then from there, a line to 225,200 and finally closing the path back to 150,0:

Sorry, your browser does not support inline SVG.

Here is the SVG code:

Example

<svg height="210" width="400">
  <path d="M150 0 L75 200 L225 200 Z" />
</svg>
Try it Yourself »

Example 2

Bézier curves are used to model smooth curves that can be scaled indefinitely. Generally, the user selects two endpoints and one or two control points. A Bézier curve with one control point is called a quadratic Bézier curve and the kind with two control points is called cubic.

The following example creates a quadratic Bézier curve, where A and C are the start and end points, B is the control point:

A B C Sorry, your browser does not support inline SVG.

Here is the SVG code:

Example

<svg height="400" width="450">
  <path id="lineAB" d="M 100 350 l 150 -300" stroke="red"
  stroke-width="3" fill="none" />
  <path id="lineBC" d="M 250 50 l 150 300" stroke="red"
  stroke-width="3" fill="none" />
  <path d="M 175 200 l 150 0" stroke="green" stroke-width="3"
  fill="none" />
  <path d="M 100 350 q 150 -300 300 0" stroke="blue"
  stroke-width="5" fill="none" />
  <!-- Mark relevant points -->
  <g stroke="black" stroke-width="3" fill="black">
    <circle id="pointA" cx="100" cy="350" r="3" />
    <circle id="pointB" cx="250" cy="50" r="3" />
    <circle id="pointC" cx="400" cy="350" r="3" />
  </g>
  <!-- Label the points -->
  <g font-size="30" font-family="sans-serif" fill="black" stroke="none"
  text-anchor="middle">
    <text x="100" y="350" dx="-30">A</text>
    <text x="250" y="50" dy="-10">B</text>
    <text x="400" y="350" dx="30">C</text>
  </g>
</svg>
Try it Yourself »

Complex? YES!!!! Because of the complexity involved in drawing paths it is highly recommended to use an SVG editor to create complex graphics.