How to Convert SVG to PNG on Mac? Preview App Can't Open SVG

Apple includes the Scriptable Image Processing System (sips) in the operating system. It is accessed via the Terminal application. Let's say your SVG (foo.svg) is on your Desktop and you launch the Terminal:

cd ~/Desktop
/usr/bin/sips -s format png -o foo.png foo.svg

This will produce a transparency preserved PNG to your Desktop.

More information on sips is available in the Terminal or a web search:

man sips
sips -h
sips -H
sips --formats

SVG is a file format from Adobe

They say, open the file is most Web Browsers

With the file in the Browser, use Screen Shot to make the file in PNG format

Which in turn can be opened in Preview

How to open an SVG file.

From Chrome and Edge to Safari and Firefox, all the major browsers allow you to open SVG files these days — whether you’re on a Mac or Windows. Just launch your browser and click on File

Open to choose the file you want to view. It’ll then be displayed in your browser.

Opening an SVG image with a built-in program on your computer is just as easy. Double-click the file name and you’ll get a list of programs that will open it — or it’ll automatically open in a compatible program.

If you prefer to have something installed on your Mac for converting SVG to PNG, Inkscape is a great choice! It's an awesome tool that's free and can handle SVG files like a champ.

1. Open Your SVG File: Launch Inkscape and drag your SVG file into the window or use File > Open.
2. Export as PNG: Go to File > Export PNG Image. A dialog will pop up where you can adjust your settings (like size and quality). After that, just click the “Export” button and save it wherever you like.

GIMP is a free and open-source image editor that offers a wide range of tools for photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring. It's often compared to Adobe Photoshop due to its robust features, but it's available at no cost. GIMP supports a variety of image formats, including SVG, making it a great tool for converting vector images to raster formats like PNG.

How to convert svg to png on mac with GIMP:

1. Download and Install GIMP from the official website.
2. Open GIMP and go to File > Open to load your SVG file.
3. After the SVG file opens, go to File > Export As.
4. Choose PNG as the export format, set the desired file name, and click Export.

GIMP is a powerful tool for users who need a free, yet comprehensive solution for image editing and format conversion on a Mac. It’s particularly useful for converting SVG files to PNG as it provides control over the output quality and size.

Converting SVG to PNG on a Mac when Preview isn't playing nice can be a bit frustrating, you can try the online converter. One of the simplest ways to convert SVG files to PNG is to use an online converter. Such as Convertio. It's fast, and you don't have to install anything.

Using a web browser to convert SVG files to PNG on Mac using screenshots definitely can work, but there are some pretty notable downsides to this method. Let me break it down for you. Different browsers can render SVGs in slightly different ways. One day it looks great in Chrome, but when you switch to Safari, the colors can vary. When you take a screenshot, these inconsistencies can really come through, making your PNG version not look quite right.