SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG is the open W3C consortium standard for vector graphics: the content is described as text, scales without loss of quality and opens in any browser. For a map that is a rare combination — one file suits page layout, printing and designer edits alike.

A map is exported to SVG when it will be styled further: a poster, a directions scheme, an illustration for an article, a picture for a website, a base for an infographic. In Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma or Affinity Designer you can recolor the roads, remove unneeded objects, add a route and your own labels.

What is in the file: one UTF-8 document where roads, buildings, water and greenery are drawn as real vector outlines rather than as a picture, and are sorted into layers — each one a separate named group instead of one common heap of objects. Thanks to that, keeping only the roads or recoloring all the water at once is a matter of selecting a group, not of hand-picking thousands of outlines; and if you don't need the layers, any editor ungroups them with one command. The labels stay as text rather than being converted to curves, so they are crisp at any zoom. There is a nuance: a label is drawn character by character, so editing it as a whole string in an editor will not work — it is easier to delete it and type it again.

The file weight predictably grows with the area: a map of a dense city center easily reaches tens of megabytes, and a browser starts to pan it slowly. If you need the file for the web, look at the compressed SVGZ option or lower the detail level at export time.