Place and import pictures, PDFs and SVGs

PlexiiDraw can take in artwork from elsewhere: a photo or screenshot to work over, a page from a PDF, or an SVG drawing whose shapes you want to keep editing. The File menu has a command for each, and you can also drag files straight onto the artboard.

Before you start

• Placing and importing are on every plan.
• Open an artwork. See Start an artwork and set up the artboard.

Which command to use

Place a picture

1. Choose File > Place… and pick a picture, such as a PNG.
2. A preview of the picture follows the pointer. Click where you want it.

The picture appears at its real size.

Place a page from a PDF

1. Choose File > Place… and pick a PDF.
2. The Place PDF box asks which page to place. Type the page number and click Place.
3. Click the artboard where you want the page.

The page is placed as an image, and a note says so. Its text and drawings are part of the picture, not separate shapes.

Import an SVG

Choose File > Import SVG… and pick an SVG file. The drawing arrives as one group, named after the file, with its shapes ready to edit. Double-click the group to work on the shapes inside it. See Groups, clipping masks and compound paths.

Some SVG content, such as filters and effects, cannot be edited as shapes in PlexiiDraw. That part comes in as an embedded picture so it still looks right, and the Import report lists what was turned into a picture.

Open an SVG as a new drawing

Choose File > Open SVG…, or press ⌘ O, and pick an SVG file. A new drawing opens with its artboard at the SVG's size, and every shape in it is editable.

Use Open SVG… when the SVG is the whole artwork, such as a logo you want to rework. Use Import SVG… to add it to an artwork you already have.

Drag files onto the artboard

Drag one or more files from Finder onto the artboard. You can drag SVGs and pictures together, such as an SVG and a PNG. Each one lands where you drop it.

Dropping several files at once is one step to undo: one ⌘ Z removes them all.

Trace over a picture

Choose File > Place as template… and pick a picture. The picture goes onto a layer of its own, with a name that starts with "Template:". The layer is dimmed, so your own lines stand out over it, and locked, so you cannot move the picture by accident while you draw. Add a new vector layer above it and trace with the pen or pencil. See Layers and blend modes.

Paste SVG from Figma

1. In Figma, select what you want and use Copy as SVG.
2. In PlexiiDraw, press ⌘ V.

A group named "Pasted SVG" appears, made of editable shapes.

Common questions

The PDF page is a picture. Can I edit its text? No. A placed PDF page is an image of that page. To edit the shapes of a drawing, bring it in as an SVG instead.

Why is part of my SVG a picture? PlexiiDraw turns anything it cannot edit as shapes, such as filters and effects, into an embedded picture, so the drawing still looks the same. The Import report lists those parts.

I cannot select my template. The template layer is locked on purpose. Unlock it in the layers panel to move or remove the picture.

If I place the same picture twice, are the two linked? No. Each thing you place is its own copy, so editing one never changes another.

Related tasks

• PlexiiDraw overview
• Start an artwork and set up the artboard
• Groups, clipping masks and compound paths
• Layers and blend modes
• Cut, copy and paste
• Export artwork