draw.io XML inside PNG files
When draw.io exports a PNG or SVG, it hides the editable XML inside the file. That is why a draw.io export can be dragged back into an editor and edited, while an ordinary screenshot cannot.
It is a genuinely useful property and an occasionally surprising one, because the source travels with the image.
#When this matters
Importing existing draw.io diagrams from elsewhere.
Understanding why an exported image can be re-imported.
Sharing an exported image outside your organisation.
#The detail
Thing | What happens |
|---|---|
A draw.io PNG | Contains the full diagram XML in a metadata chunk. |
A draw.io SVG | Contains the XML in an attribute. |
Any other image | Contains no diagram source and cannot be imported. |
Import | We read that embedded XML, which is how migration works. |
#A few things that catch people out
An exported PNG carries the whole diagram, including anything you deleted from the visible area but left on the canvas.
Sharing an export outside the company shares the source too. Check the canvas first.
This is a draw.io behaviour, not something we add. The same is true of exports from anywhere else.
#Related
Ask us the awkward questions. They have answers.
