Import SVG as shape/path in Photoshop

Question

Is there a way to import an SVG into Photoshop and have it be treated as a shape/path? or perhaps converted to a shape/path so that it can be edited (e.g. manipulate its control points, change its fill and stroke attributes etc, combined it with other shapes etc). I see there is a way for a shape/path to be exported as SVG from Photoshop. I’m basically interested in the reverse conversion.

Answer 1

I'd like to suggest an alternative method of working with SVGs in Photoshop.

You can save an SVG made in Inkscape or Illustrator, and then drag the SVG file into a Photoshop document. It will be inserted as a Smart Object. A Smart Object is basically a link to an external image file, in this case an SVG file.

Photoshop isn't much use for editing SVGs though. If you want to manipulate it or edit it, better to do it in a vector image editor.

If you have an SVG Smart Object placed in a Photoshop document, you can double click it in the Layers Panel, and it will open in whatever vector image editor you have set up on your system to open SVGs, so you can edit it, save it, close the vector editor, and the changes will update in the Smart Object.

Also note that since the Smart Object is still a vector, you can resize it in Photoshop without pixelization.

If you are using Illustrator, note that the same functionality is possible with an AI vector file.