How to convert an .idraw file to SVG

Q: How to convert an .idraw file to SVG

If the Graphic app still runs on your Mac, open each drawing and export it as SVG. If it no longer runs, or you have many drawings, use a converter that reads .idraw files directly. Graphic iDraw Rescue Pro does that on your Mac, a whole folder at once, and keeps layers and text editable.

Short answer: if the Graphic app still runs on your Mac, open each drawing and export it as SVG. If it no longer runs, or you have many drawings, use a converter that reads .idraw files directly. Graphic iDraw Rescue Pro does that on your Mac, a whole folder at once, and keeps layers and text editable.

Why SVG?

An SVG keeps a drawing as a drawing. Paths, layers, text and gradients stay separate objects, so you can scale the result from a business card to a billboard, recolour one shape, or fix a typo years from now. A PNG or JPEG is a grid of pixels: it looks right at one size, and everything in it is baked together for good.

SVG is also an open standard. Affinity, Illustrator, Figma and every web browser read it, so your work no longer depends on one app staying alive.

Method 1: export from Graphic

This works only while Graphic still starts on your Mac. On Apple silicon it runs through Rosetta 2, and Graphic is expected to stop opening from macOS 28, due in autumn 2027.

Open the drawing in Graphic.
Use Graphic's export command and choose SVG as the format.
Repeat for every drawing. Graphic exports one document at a time.

Before you export, make sure the fonts the drawing uses are installed, or the text may be set in a substitute typeface.

Method 2: convert with Graphic iDraw Rescue

Graphic iDraw Rescue Pro reads .idraw files itself, so Graphic does not need to be installed or running. It works in three steps:

Choose files or a folder. Drop drawings on the window, or choose a folder; it is scanned with all its subfolders. A review window shows every drawing found, with a preview, its missing fonts and embedded images.
Choose a destination and options. Pick the folder for the SVG files. Options: write a note for each missing font, save embedded images in their original format, save a PNG preview image next to each SVG, and overwrite files from an earlier run.
Rescue. The app converts everything, shows progress and the time left, and writes a report of what happened to every file.

Your originals are opened read-only and never changed. Nothing is uploaded; there is no account.

What comes across

Layers, as named groups, with their opacity.
Groups, and paths with their fills and strokes.
Text, including multiple lines, word wrapping in text boxes and text along a path. It stays real, editable text.
Linear gradients, image fills, drop shadows, glows and per-object opacity.
Placed pictures, embedded in the SVG. Pictures stored as TIFF, which browsers cannot show, are re-encoded as PNG.

Known limits

Only linear gradients are converted.
Text boxes can come out slightly differently between apps and fonts. Text placed tightly over a shape may need a small nudge.
Graphic's file format was never published. Unusual drawings can contain things the converter does not know yet; those are reported, not silently dropped.

Tips for a clean result

Install missing fonts first. The app lists every missing font and which drawings use it, with a button to look it up on Google Fonts, MyFonts or Adobe Fonts. Installing a font later and reopening the SVG also works.
Open the SVGs in Affinity for the result closest to the original. Illustrator, Figma and browsers work well too. Inkscape often places text and some fills wrongly, even though the SVG itself is valid.
Start with the free demo. It does a dry run on your own drawings and saves PNG previews, so you can check the conversion before you buy.

Questions

Is there an online .idraw to SVG converter?

We do not know of one that reads the drawing itself. Graphic iDraw Rescue runs locally on your Mac, so your drawings never leave it.

Can I convert hundreds of drawings at once?

Yes. Point the app at a folder and it works through everything inside, however deep. You can stop at any moment; what was already converted stays.

I also need a PDF.

Convert to SVG first, then save a PDF from there. See how to convert an .idraw file to PDF.

Try it on your own drawings

The free demo reads your .idraw files, lists missing fonts and saves a PNG preview of every drawing, so you can see how your own work converts before you buy. Graphic iDraw Rescue Pro writes the editable SVG files.

Try the free demo 4.9 MB · macOS 14.6 or later