{
  "id": 16136112,
  "title": "\"Text is not SVG - cannot display\": why draw.io labels break in SVG",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/text-is-not-svg-cannot-display-why-draw-io-labels-break-in-svg",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T01:36:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/mikhailklimenko/text-is-not-svg-cannot-display-why-drawio-labels-break-in-svg-58an"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "draw.io creates most labels as HTML within foreignObject elements of SVG files, providing a fallback plain-text copy. When this HTML isn't rendered, the fallback appears: one line, truncated, lacking formatting, links, and the warning \"Text is not SVG - cannot display\". To fix this in exported SVGs, you can convert labels to native SVG text, turn off formatted text and word wrap, or embed fonts. However, some labels cannot be converted due to containing links, lists, tables, or background colors. Confluence displays these SVGs as flat images, showing labels correctly but making links ineffective due to how it handles images with clickable elements. Solutions include using draw.io's \"Convert Labels to SVG\" feature, exporting to PDF and converting via a tool like Inkscape, or employing apps that render SVGs as live HTML in environments like Confluence.",
  "summary": "Short answer. draw.io writes most labels as HTML inside foreignObject elements of the SVG, with a short plain-text copy next to each one as a fallback. Wherever that HTML is not rendered, you see the fallback: one line, cut off, no formatting, no links, plus the warning \"Text is not SVG - cannot display\". Fix it in the export with Convert Labels to SVG , or by turning off formatted text. Labels…",
  "key_points": [
    "Labels in draw.io created as HTML in foreignObject SVG elements",
    "HTML labels result in truncated, unformatted fallback text",
    "Fix involves converting labels to native SVG text or turning off formatting"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The reliance on HTML elements within SVG files creates a compatibility gap that forces users to choose between visual fidelity and functional interactivity when embedding diagrams in platforms like Confluence.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}