How to Turn Figma Files to SVG with Rect Elements

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When creating vector graphics or UI designs in Figma, exporting them as SVG files can be essential for integrating them into web and app projects. While SVGs support a variety of shapes like circles, paths, and polygons, rect (rectangle) elements are often more efficient for simpler shapes and designs. By leveraging rect elements, your SVGs can remain lightweight and manageable. This guide explores the steps to convert Figma designs to SVGs, replacing shapes with rect elements wherever possible, with hands-on coding examples.

What Are SVGs and Rect Elements?

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a popular XML-based file format for rendering vector graphics in applications and on the web. SVGs are preferred because they maintain high visual quality at any scale and offer detailed control over styling, which makes them ideal for responsive web design and resolution-independent graphics.

A rect element in SVG is used to draw rectangles. The syntax is straightforward, using the following attributes:

html
<rect x="position_x" y="position_y" width="rect_width" height="rect_height" fill="color" />
  • x and y: Specify the starting position.
  • width and height: Set the dimensions.
  • fill: Determines the color.

Preparing Your Figma File for Export

Before diving into the conversion, ensure your Figma file has the appropriate settings for the best SVG output. Here’s a checklist:

  1. Flatten Complex Shapes: If your design includes complex shapes, try flattening them to avoid generating excessive paths in the SVG output.
  2. Remove Unused Layers: Any hidden or unnecessary layers will still be part of the exported SVG, so delete them to reduce file size.
  3. Organize Shapes into Rectangles: For designs primarily made up of rectangles, make sure each element is aligned and sized properly. This organization helps when you want to replace paths or groups with rect elements.

Exporting as SVG from Figma

To export your design as an SVG file from Figma:

  1. Select the elements or frames you want to export.
  2. Go to the Export panel and select SVG as the format.
  3. Adjust the SVG settings:
    • Outline Text: Check this box to prevent text from being exported as text elements, converting them into paths instead.
    • Use Simplified Shapes: This option helps export rectangles as rect elements if the shape qualifies.
  4. Click Export.

Your exported SVG file may contain several path elements, depending on your design’s complexity. Now, we’ll convert paths to rect elements for optimization.

Converting Paths to Rect Elements

To streamline your SVG, you can manually edit the exported SVG file or automate the conversion using JavaScript. Here’s a breakdown of both methods.

Manual Conversion

Open your SVG file in a text editor, such as Visual Studio Code. Find the path elements that represent rectangles and replace them with rect elements.

Example: Suppose your SVG has a path element like this:

html
<path d="M10 10 H 50 V 50 H 10 Z" fill="#3498db" />

This path defines a rectangle starting at (10, 10) with a width of 40 and height of 40. You can replace it with a rect element:

html
<rect x="10" y="10" width="40" height="40" fill="#3498db" />

Manually editing paths to rect elements works for simple shapes, but it can become tedious for more complex designs. That’s where automating the process using JavaScript is useful.

Using JavaScript to Automate Conversion

This method involves writing a small JavaScript function to scan an SVG and replace paths that represent rectangles with rect elements. Let’s dive into the code:

javascript
// JavaScript function to convert paths to rects
function convertPathsToRects(svgContent) {
const parser = new DOMParser();
const doc = parser.parseFromString(svgContent, 'image/svg+xml');
const paths = doc.querySelectorAll('path');paths.forEach(path => {
const d = path.getAttribute(‘d’);
const fill = path.getAttribute(‘fill’);// Regular expression to match rect-like paths (e.g., M10 10 H 50 V 50 H 10 Z)
const rectPattern = /M\s*(\d+)\s*(\d+)\s*H\s*(\d+)\s*V\s*(\d+)\s*H\s*\d+\s*Z/i;
const match = d.match(rectPattern);if (match) {
const [ , x, y, widthX, heightY] = match;
const width = widthX – x;
const height = heightY – y;// Create a new rect element
const rect = doc.createElement(‘rect’);
rect.setAttribute(‘x’, x);
rect.setAttribute(‘y’, y);
rect.setAttribute(‘width’, width);
rect.setAttribute(‘height’, height);
if (fill) rect.setAttribute(‘fill’, fill);// Replace the path with rect
path.replaceWith(rect);
}
});const serializer = new XMLSerializer();
return serializer.serializeToString(doc);
}

Explanation:

  1. DOM Parsing: Parses the SVG content into an XML document.
  2. Regex Matching: Identifies paths that form rectangles using a regular expression.
  3. Creating rect Elements: Replaces each matched path with an equivalent rect element, using the calculated width, height, and fill attributes.
  4. Serializing Back to SVG: Serializes the updated document back into SVG format.

This function can be integrated into a Node.js script or run in the browser to automate conversion for multiple files.

Testing the Converted SVG

After the conversion, test the SVG in an HTML file to ensure everything displays as expected.

Create a basic HTML file:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>SVG Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<svg width="100" height="100">
<!-- Insert your SVG content here -->
<rect x="10" y="10" width="40" height="40" fill="#3498db" />
</svg>
</body>
</html>

Open this file in a browser to preview the SVG. Check that all elements render correctly and that rect elements have replaced the appropriate paths.

Advanced Optimization with SVGO

For further optimization, use a tool like SVGO to streamline and minify your SVG. SVGO can help remove unnecessary attributes, comments, and whitespace, further reducing file size and enhancing performance.

Using SVGO in Node.js

  1. Install SVGO:
    bash
    npm install -g svgo
  2. Run SVGO on your SVG file:
    bash
    svgo -i input.svg -o output.svg

Conclusion

Converting Figma files to SVG with rect elements can optimize your graphics for better performance and scalability on the web. By following the outlined steps, including manual or automated path-to-rect conversion, you can keep your SVGs lightweight and maintainable. Using JavaScript for automation and SVGO for optimization helps streamline the process further, making SVGs easier to manage and implement across projects.

Ultimately, by adopting these practices, you ensure your SVGs are efficient and flexible for various applications, giving you the best balance between design fidelity and performance. Whether working on simple UI elements or more complex designs, leveraging rect elements in your SVGs is an excellent way to maximize the efficiency and quality of your vector graphics.