Vector image file formats

Formats that describe a picture as shapes: paths, curves, fills, strokes and text. The picture is drawn fresh at whatever size it is shown, so it stays sharp. They suit logos, diagrams, illustrations and print.

Formats

.AI

Adobe Illustrator Artwork

Illustrator's working file: a PDF carrying Illustrator's own editing data.

.CDR

CorelDRAW drawing

CorelDRAW's working file: RIFF chunks in older versions, a ZIP archive since X4.

.DRAWIO

draw.io diagram

draw.io diagrams: XML pages of shapes and connectors, sometimes compressed.

.EMF

Enhanced Metafile

A recording of 32-bit Windows drawing calls, used in Office and on the clipboard.

.EPS

Encapsulated PostScript

A single PostScript drawing for placing in other documents, with an optional preview.

.JSON

Lottie animation

Vector animations as JSON, exported from After Effects and played in apps and web pages.

.SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics

The web’s vector format: shapes, text and gradients written as XML.

.WMF

Windows Metafile

A recording of 16-bit Windows drawing calls, replayed to draw the picture.