<symbol>

The <symbol> element is used to define graphical template objects which can be instantiated by a <use> element. The use of symbol elements for graphics that are used multiple times in the same document adds structure and semantics. Documents that are rich in structure may be rendered graphically, as speech, or as Braille, and thus promote accessibility. Note that a symbol element itself is not rendered. Only instances of a symbol element (i.e., a reference to a symbol by a <use> element) are rendered.

Usage context

Categories	Container element, Structural element
Permitted content	Any number of the following elements, in any order: Animation elements Descriptive elements Shape elements Structural elements Gradient elements <a>, <altGlyphDef>, <clipPath>, <color-profile>, <cursor>, <filter>, <font>, <font-face>, <foreignObject>, <image>, <marker>, <mask>, <pattern>, <script>, <style>, <switch>, <text>, <view>

Attributes

Global attributes

• Core attributes »
• Graphical event attributes »
• Presentation attributes »
• class
• style
• externalResourcesRequired

Specific attributes

• preserveAspectRatio
• viewBox

DOM Interface

This element implements the SVGSymbolElement interface.

Example

<svg width="120" height="140">
<!-- symbol definition  NEVER draw -->
<symbol id="sym01" viewBox="0 0 150 110">
  <circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" stroke-width="8"
      stroke="red" fill="red"/>
  <circle cx="90" cy="60" r="40" stroke-width="8"
      stroke="green" fill="white"/>
</symbol>

<!-- actual drawing by "use" element -->
<use xlink:href="#sym01"
     x="0" y="0" width="100" height="50"/>
<use xlink:href="#sym01"
     x="0" y="50" width="75" height="38"/>
<use xlink:href="#sym01"
     x="0" y="100" width="50" height="25"/>
</svg>

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2 The definition of '<symbol>' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Allowed geometry properties to be specified on a symbol
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition) The definition of '<symbol>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

The chart is based on these sources.

See also

• <marker>
• <pattern>