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Vector editing

Paper supports importing, generating, and editing SVGs. Learn how to use vector editing in Paper, or check out our roadmap below for what’s coming soon.

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Vector editing roadmap

We’re just getting started with vector editing!

Today you can paste SVGs into Paper and edit them, but we’ll soon ship the ability to create new ones from scratch—including shapes like lines, rectangles, ellipses, and so on.

On our near-term roadmap, we have:

  • Improved snapping and guides for path editing
  • Crop, scale and resize SVGs
  • Convert shapes to paths
  • Boolean operations

In the medium and long term, we have many ideas for advanced vector editing tools. Here are some we’re thinking about:

  • Mirroring: have your paths mirrored around an axis as you draw them. Useful for drawing symmetrical shapes.
  • Repeating: repeat shapes in lines, circles, grids, and other arrangements.
  • Vector networks: draw paths that branch and connect freely.
  • Anchoring: define vectors relative to other vectors in a non-destructive manner.
  • Anneal Brush: reshape vector paths with soft, brush-based control.
  • Shape Builder: merge and trim paths to quickly build shapes.

Here are a few videos demonstrating some of these features we’re working on.

We’d love to hear your feedback on the sorts of vector editing tools you’d love to see in Paper.

Getting started

Import an SVG

To import an SVG, simply copy it to your clipboard (from a website, design tool, etc.) and paste it into your Paper file (⌘V).

Generate an SVG

To generate an SVG, select the “Create SVG” tool (⌘⇧J). This will open a prompt for you to ask AI to generate an SVG, right in your Paper file.

You can also select a frame as context, and ask the AI to generate the SVG based on that selection.

Editing an SVG

Paper supports editing the contents of your SVG. First, select a layer within your SVG. Then, you can:

  • move, resize and rotate the layer
  • adjust fill color, stroke color and stroke thickness
  • edit paths (see below)

Path editing & pen tool

Paper supports editing SVG paths. To enter path editing mode, simply double-click on a path, or hit Enter with that path selected.

In path editing mode, you can:

  • use the Pen (P) tool to draw new paths segments, and modify existing ones
  • use the Move (M) tool to adjust path control points and segments

To exit path editing mode, double-click on empty space, or hit esc.

In addition to editing existing paths, you can draw new paths by selecting the Pen tool (P) and clicking anywhere:

  • clicking inside of an SVG creates a new path within that SVG
  • if your click does not land in an existing SVG, a new SVG will automatically be created to contain your new path

Pixel snapping

If you have pixel snapping enabled, points on paths will snap to the nearest half-pixel. You can toggle pixel snapping on and off from the zoom menu in the top right, or by hitting ⌘⇧'.

Keyboard shortcuts cheatsheet

  • Enter: enter path editing mode
  • esc: exit path editing mode
  • P: select the Pen tool
  • M: select the Move tool