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Figma copy-paste no longer brings in vectors—only images. What changed?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
July 31, 2025
32 replies
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I’m hoping someone can clarify this for me. I used to copy objects from Adobe Illustrator with Cmd +C and paste them into Figma with Cmd +V, and they would arrive as editable vectors. I’m absolutely certain this worked before.

Lately, though, every paste comes in as a flattened image instead of vectors. Nothing in my workflow has changed, so I’m starting to wonder if I’m losing my mind!

Has Figma (or Illustrator) changed something recently? Is there a setting or workaround I’m missing? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Figma Design

Best answer by djv

Hey All, thank you for your patience while our team worked towards a solution with Adobe!

Adobe identified the root cause and now have a fix in place. The issue stems from a code change introduced in version 29.8.x and is not related to the recent SVG settings change. They also confirmed the exact repro: the issue occurs when the SVG “Minify” option is enabled.

They will be disabling the feature flag associated with this code change and will let us know once it’s complete. After the flag is turned off, you will need to restart the application and Copy/Paste with the Include SVG setting enabled to ensure it will work as expected.

You can find the setting under File > Export for Screens, and hit the little settings icon in that Dialog...go down to SVG and uncheck minify (until the fix has been fully rolled out by Adobe).

Steveagaba

New Member

The problem is not with Figma, The problem is with the Adobe illustrator update you just installed recently, Illustrator 29.71, Uninstall it and go back to the previous version, All will be fine.

JLarts

New Member

The problem is not with Figma, The problem is with the Adobe illustrator update you just installed recently, Illustrator 29.71, Uninstall it and go back to the previous version, All will be fine.

Thank you! I thought I was going mad… What the f* Adobe lol…..

You think this will get fixed?

Thanks again,

Jonny.

Junior Rodríguez

New Member

I solved with Preferences > Clipboard Handling> check Include SVG Code

ProUser1

New Participant

You're right — this used to work. Copying from Illustrator to Figma via Cmd+C / Cmd+V previously pasted editable vectors, but now often results in a flattened image.

What's changed:

Recent updates in Illustrator and possibly Figma have altered how clipboard data is handled.
Illustrator may now prioritize image data in the clipboard.
Figma sometimes pastes the image version instead of vector data.

Workarounds:

Export as SVG from Illustrator, then import into Figma — this preserves vector paths.
Enable AICB clipboard format in Illustrator under Preferences → File Handling & Clipboard. Check both “AICB” and “Preserve Paths.”
Use older versions of Illustrator (pre-2024) where this behavior still works.

There’s no official fix yet. Using SVG export is currently the most reliable method.

Gayani_S

Community Support

Hey everyone, thanks for flagging this! This change is due to the recent Illustrator update (version 29.7.1). Head into Illustrator’s general settings and make sure “Include SVG code” is checked under Clipboard Handling. Once that’s enabled, vectors should paste as vectors again.

Let me know if you this is not working for you, happy to help further!

hivajo

Active Member

I’m hoping someone can clarify this for me. I used to copy objects from Adobe Illustrator with Cmd +C and paste them into Figma with Cmd +V, and they would arrive as editable vectors. I’m certain this worked before.

Lately, though, every paste comes in as a flattened image instead of vectors. Nothing in my workflow has changed, so I’m starting to wonder if I’m losing my mind!

Has Figma (or Illustrator) changed something recently circle of influence? Is there a setting or workaround I’m missing? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Figma and Illustrator haven’t officially changed this, but Illustrator’s clipboard settings might affect it. To keep vectors editable when pasting, enable “Copy as SVG” in Illustrator’s Preferences under File Handling & Clipboard. Alternatively, export your artwork as an SVG and import it into Figma. Direct copy-paste sometimes results in flattened images due to how clipboard data is handled. Updating both apps to the latest versions can also help.

laurel.ch

New Participant

Wow. ANOTHER bad interface change from Illustrator? I’m kinda shocked. It’s like they insist on ostracizing the longtime users for the sake of users who are going to be too confused to use it anyway. They need to STOP.

Product Design Lead, Enterprise Software 🏳️‍🌈 12 years designing for software, 7 years in Figma

ksn

Community Support

Hey all - first, sorry for the disruption this may have caused you. We worked diligently to make sure this got addressed asap, and Dylan posted some info here (if you haven’t already seen it): https://x.com/zoink/status/1955105303931843008

I hope this is helpful for you -- let me know if you continue to have issues.

GxC

New Member

Hey everyone, thanks for flagging this! This change is due to the recent Illustrator update (version 29.7.1). Head into Illustrator’s general settings and make sure “Include SVG code” is checked under Clipboard Handling. Once that’s enabled, vectors should paste as vectors again.