# 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

[Stored previews and thumbnailsWhat makes offline views work.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/stored-previews-and-thumbnails.html)

[What leaves your Confluence siteTwo things, and both are controllable.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/what-leaves-your-confluence-site.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

---

_Ask us the awkward questions. They have answers._