Screenshots
Let’s start with the best cross-platform vector editor – Inkscape.This is a free open-source program with an amazing set of features.Inkscape is used by many professional designers and is a full-fledged desktop vector editor available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. Mac users interested in Svg font editor app generally download: FontForge Free FontForge is an outline font editor that lets you create your own postscript, truetype, opentype, cid-keyed, multi-master, cff. There are plenty of vector editing applications on a Mac and EPS is a very common file format. Adobe Illustrator is the software of choice for many design professionals. I am a creative professional with 15 years of experience in art direction, web design and vector illustration.
Description
SCALABLE VECTOR GRAPHICS (SVG) EDITOR
SVG is the standard format for storing vector graphics such as icons, banners, charts and illustrations.
Boxy SVG project goal is to create the best SVG editor for non-technical users as well as for professional designers and developers.
CORE FEATURES
• Clean and intuitive UI heavily inspired by Inkscape, Sketch and Adobe Illustrator
• Extensive support for on-canvas editing of object geometry, transform, paint and other properties
• Save to SVG and SVGZ formats, export to PNG, JPG, WebP, PDF and HTML5
• Pixabay integration with over a million free stock photos and vector assets
• Google Fonts integration with hundreds of free fonts
• Configurable keyboard shortcuts for over 100 commands
• Manual guides, smart guides and grid
• Path operations (unite, intersect, subtract, exclude, close, reverse, etc.)
• Arrangement operations (align to, rotate, flip, order, group, etc.)
FOR WEB DEVELOPERS
• Chromium-based rendering engine
• SVG and CSS code inspector similar to Chrome Dev Tools
• Clean SVG output that preserves IDs, classes, titles and other metadata
• SVG sprites editing support
** This project is in active development with new features added each month. If you are missing something or you found a bug, please let me know by sending an email to [email protected] **
SVG is the standard format for storing vector graphics such as icons, banners, charts and illustrations.
Boxy SVG project goal is to create the best SVG editor for non-technical users as well as for professional designers and developers.
CORE FEATURES
• Clean and intuitive UI heavily inspired by Inkscape, Sketch and Adobe Illustrator
• Extensive support for on-canvas editing of object geometry, transform, paint and other properties
• Save to SVG and SVGZ formats, export to PNG, JPG, WebP, PDF and HTML5
• Pixabay integration with over a million free stock photos and vector assets
• Google Fonts integration with hundreds of free fonts
• Configurable keyboard shortcuts for over 100 commands
• Manual guides, smart guides and grid
• Path operations (unite, intersect, subtract, exclude, close, reverse, etc.)
• Arrangement operations (align to, rotate, flip, order, group, etc.)
FOR WEB DEVELOPERS
• Chromium-based rendering engine
• SVG and CSS code inspector similar to Chrome Dev Tools
• Clean SVG output that preserves IDs, classes, titles and other metadata
• SVG sprites editing support
** This project is in active development with new features added each month. If you are missing something or you found a bug, please let me know by sending an email to [email protected] **
What’s New
- Bugfix: Can't edit symbol, pattern or marker by double-clicking it
- Bugfix: Photos imported from Pixabay have incomplete description
- Bugfix: Photos imported from Pixabay have incomplete description
34 Ratings
Fantastic Basic SVG Editor
Boxy SVG is a super tool to have on hand - especially at under $10.
Are there more expensive vector tools out there, with more features? YEP, but some are old and out of date, some are bulky and resource hogs, and some require you to sign-up for an online account to save locally on your Mac… Boxy SVG does what it’s designed to do, and it does so extremely well. I’ve used it to create quick logos, design vector shapes to import into 3D printing design tools, and create designs for vinyl cutting. If you are looking for a fast SVG tool, look no further!
Are there more expensive vector tools out there, with more features? YEP, but some are old and out of date, some are bulky and resource hogs, and some require you to sign-up for an online account to save locally on your Mac… Boxy SVG does what it’s designed to do, and it does so extremely well. I’ve used it to create quick logos, design vector shapes to import into 3D printing design tools, and create designs for vinyl cutting. If you are looking for a fast SVG tool, look no further!
My favorite SVG editor
I’ve been using Boxy SVG for over half a year now. I just make icons for my app: nothing too advanced, but I needed a good editor and it turns out that was pretty hard to find. I tried out a few apps before settling on this one, which in my opinion was significantly better and more user friendly. Normally I don’t leave reviews, but almost every week I see an update to the app that makes it better and better so I wanted to thank the dev for his efforts. You’re doing a great job!
Something like an early beta
Seems to consistently display imported SVGs different than other programs, including transforms being off, objects showing a fill when they shouldnt, and other things being wrong; similar sorts of issues also seem to happen when opening SVG files made by Boxy SVG in other programs. This is quite odd since it is clearly an ELectron based app, so I would expect it to display SVGs the same way Chrome does. Download photo editor for mac.
It is missing basic functionality other low-end/free programs have like adding drop shadows or blur to lines and such.
The only XML editor that I could find in the program (i.e., the “Elements Panel”), which was necassary to get anything done, was also clearly just the Chromium developers tools, so no better than just using a standard browser to edit the SVGs.
The interface is nicely straightforward, which makes doing simple things convenient, but it is good for only really doing simple things.
Overall, I’ve wasted enough time with Boxys bugs and limitations, so back to the free alternatives (InkScape, Vectr, etc) for me, for now.
It is missing basic functionality other low-end/free programs have like adding drop shadows or blur to lines and such.
The only XML editor that I could find in the program (i.e., the “Elements Panel”), which was necassary to get anything done, was also clearly just the Chromium developers tools, so no better than just using a standard browser to edit the SVGs.
The interface is nicely straightforward, which makes doing simple things convenient, but it is good for only really doing simple things.
Overall, I’ve wasted enough time with Boxys bugs and limitations, so back to the free alternatives (InkScape, Vectr, etc) for me, for now.
Developer Response,
Boxy SVG uses the same rendering engine as Chrome and therefore it should render 99% of SVG files exactly the same way.
The remaining 1% are the files that make heavy use of 'use' and 'foreginObject' elements or contain external references. Those features are hard to support due to their complexity or platform restrictions. There is no editor that would fully support the entire SVG standard, but I would dare to say that Boxy SVG is one of the very few editors that comes close to it.
If some SVG file does not render correctly, please send it to [email protected] or open an issue on the public bug tracker (https://boxy-svg.com/bugs) so that I could investigate it further.
If you want to check whether Boxy SVG will be able to open your SVG file before purchasing it, please open Chrome, go to https://boxy-svg.com/app and drag the SVG file from the file manager into the web app canvas.
I have implemented the 'Elements' panel from scratch, it does not share any code with the Chrome / Chromium developer tools (though it has similar look and feel). I'm planning to greatly improve this panel later this year.
The remaining 1% are the files that make heavy use of 'use' and 'foreginObject' elements or contain external references. Those features are hard to support due to their complexity or platform restrictions. There is no editor that would fully support the entire SVG standard, but I would dare to say that Boxy SVG is one of the very few editors that comes close to it.
If some SVG file does not render correctly, please send it to [email protected] or open an issue on the public bug tracker (https://boxy-svg.com/bugs) so that I could investigate it further.
If you want to check whether Boxy SVG will be able to open your SVG file before purchasing it, please open Chrome, go to https://boxy-svg.com/app and drag the SVG file from the file manager into the web app canvas.
I have implemented the 'Elements' panel from scratch, it does not share any code with the Chrome / Chromium developer tools (though it has similar look and feel). I'm planning to greatly improve this panel later this year.
Information
OS X 10.10.0 or later, 64-bit processor
Supports
Family Sharing
With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.
There’s no question about it: the Adobe suite of graphic design and illustration software isn’t going anywhere anytime soon as the industry champion. Despite its quirks and teething problems that come with nearly every version update, it’s also arguably the best suite that money can buy.
The problem is, it takes a lot of money to buy it. Purchasing any of the CS titles outright can cost anywhere between $300 to $2,000 depending on which version you plump for, and Adobe’s attempts to convince people to pay on its new subscription model can cost anything between $50 to $200 every single month.
Obviously, that’s not an issue for those at NYFA’s illustration school who have got full access to the CS suite as part of their tuition program, but these are prohibitive price tags for everyone else. As such, today we’ll be exploring:
Free Svg Editor
SVG-Edit
Platform: Any modern web browser
What It Is: An editing suite that deals solely in SVG (scalable vector graphics), which may sound like a restriction but is actually quite useful given the versatility of the format. If you’re scared of getting into SVG editing, you’re missing out, and this will break you in gently. Being a web browser platform also sounds limiting, but again, the speed at which it operates as a result is often superior to desktop counterparts.
Inkscape
Platform: Windows/Linux
What It Is: As with SVG-Edit, Inkscape is also geared towards those who want to work primarily in the SVG file format. Featuring both a clean and intuitive user interface, but packed with advanced features (such as alpha blending, object cloning and very accurate bitmap tracing), Inkscape comes as a highly recommended free alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
Affinity Designer
Platform: Mac
What It Is: Full rasterizing controls, layer management, multiple file format support, infinite zooming and every vector drawing tool you could ever hope for… Affinity Designer could quite possible become a true Illustrator killer. At the moment it’s only available to Mac users and the full version comes with a small price tag of $49.99 with free upgrades for two years, but the trial version is still remarkably functional and worth a shot if you’re looking for a free editor. It’s even worth it just to play with the infinite zoom function (yes, infinite.)
GIMP
Platform: All of them
What It Is: The one you’ve probably heard of. GIMP, an acronym for (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is more of an alternative to Photoshop rather than Illustrator since it its vector functions are limited, but what it can do in terms of image manipulation is second to none. Entirely free, open source, and loved by thousands (which have formed a very active online community since its release.)
OpenOffice Draw
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac
What It Is: While Apache’s flagship vector illustrator looks a little outdated these days, that’s purely a cosmetic concern. It’s still packed with features and is especially geared towards diagram and object manipulation. It also comes with the very handy feature of being able to create Flash (.swf) files from your document.
Serif DrawPlus (starter edition)
Platform: Windows
What It Is: The starter edition of Serif’s DrawPlus is aimed towards the amateur illustrator given that A) it’s free software, and B) it’s very much a scaled-down version of the fuller release, but don’t let that put you off. It’s not limited in any way, there’s no pressure to shell out for the professional edition DrawPlus X6, and it does a good job of emulating its heavy weight cousins.
You might find you need to use a combination of the above free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator to get the job done, but for many people it’ll be worth the cash it saves and you may even find a new favorite. Got any others we need to check out? Drop a suggestion in the comments below!
Are you interested in the visual arts industry? Check out NYFA’s graphic design and 3D animation programs!