Choice of SVG Factories (Delphi Image32, SKIA4Delphi, Direct2D wrapper, SVGMagic)

SVGIconImageList provides four alternative rendering engines for parsing and displaying SVG files (VCL), and two for FMX applications:

VCL Engines

Delphi Image32 (default): Native Delphi implementation using Image32 library by Angus Johnson. Provides excellent SVG compliance with no external dependencies.
SKIA4Delphi: Cross-platform 2D graphics API based on Google's Skia Graphics Library. Offers the best rendering quality with hardware acceleration support.
Direct2D: Native Windows SVG support based on Direct2D, written by Kiriakos Vlahos. Available in Windows 10 with the Creators Update or later. Provides excellent performance using native OS features.
SVGMagic (NEW): Wrapper for the SVGMagic library. Provides additional rendering capabilities and compatibility options. Can be selected at runtime without recompiling.

FMX Engines

FMX Image32: Image32 library adapted for FireMonkey (Windows, Android, iOS, macOS)
FMX SKIA4Delphi: Skia4Delphi for FireMonkey cross-platform applications

Comparison of the four factories

If you want to compare the four factories you can use the SVG Viewer Demo and look at the resulting rendered images by the engines (now includes SVGMagic panel):

SVGViewer demo

Support for SVG elements and presentation attributes

Image32 is the most complete library that supports advanced features like blur, gradient, merge, drop-shadow, markers, symbol, pattern, and subpixels rendering, making it the default choice.

Skia4Delphi provides the most comprehensive SVG 1.1 support with excellent rendering quality and supports complex effects including blur, filters, and advanced gradients.

Direct2D supports most common SVG features but has some notable omissions documented here:

the text element - Work around by converting text to paths using Inkscape
style sheets and the class attribute
Some advanced filter effects

SVGMagic provides good compatibility with common SVG features. Some advanced features may have limitations:

ApplyFixedColorToRootOnly is stored but functions the same as regular FixedColor (SVGMagic doesn't expose element-level manipulation)
Good support for basic shapes, paths, fills, and strokes
Opacity is applied via Windows AlphaBlend (post-rendering)

Performance

This table shows the performance of the four rendering engines tested with SVGExplorer, using a significant amount of icons from different sets, rendered at 32x32 pixels.

Count	Icon set	Image32	D2D	Skia4Delphi	SVGMagic
997	Font-Awesome	610ms	1313ms	578ms	735ms
654	Papirus	2750ms⁽¹⁾	1031ms	1266ms⁽¹⁾	1180ms
5366	Material-Design	6937ms	11219ms	7125ms	8450ms

As you can see, the four engines perform differently depending on the icons and their complexity.

⁽¹⁾Notice that Image32 and Skia4Delphi are the only engines capable of rendering blur effect (that is always slow to calculate): this is the reason of "slow" performance to render Papirus icons that contains blur effect.

Performance Characteristics

Engine	Startup	Simple Icons	Complex Icons	Memory Usage	Platform
Image32	Fast	Excellent	Good	Low	All
Skia4Delphi	Medium	Excellent	Excellent	Medium	All
Direct2D	Fast	Excellent	Excellent	Low	Windows 10+
SVGMagic	Fast	Good	Good	Low	Windows

Default SVG factory

Currently and if you take no action the Image32 factory is the preferred implementation, used also to build packages.

Specifying an SVG factory

You can override the default by calling SetGlobalSVGFactory at the initialization section of any unit or at application startup.

Examples

Use Skia4Delphi:

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SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetSkiaSVGFactory);

Use Direct2D:

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SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetD2DSVGFactory);

Use SVGMagic:

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SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetSVGMagicFactory);

Runtime Selection:

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procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  // Choose engine based on configuration or user preference
  case PreferredEngine of
    0: SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetImage32SVGFactory);
    1: SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetSkiaSVGFactory);
    2: SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetD2DSVGFactory);
    3: SetGlobalSVGFactory(GetSVGMagicFactory);
  end;

  // Reload icons with new factory
  SVGIconImageList1.RecreateBitmaps;
end;

Conditional Defines

There are three conditional Defines for VCL: you must activate only one:

pascal

{$DEFINE Image32_SVGEngine}
{$DEFINE Skia_SVGEngine}
{$DEFINE PreferNativeSvgSupport}

There are two conditional Defines for FMX: you must activate only one:

pascal

{$DEFINE FMX_Image32_SVGEngine}
{$DEFINE FMX_Skia_SVGEngine}

NOTICE that Image32 is the default active used automatically by the Packages installed using the Installer...

In SVGIconImageList.inc under the Source directory you will find following section to define the Compiler Directive for VCL and FMX:

pascal

//***********************************************************************
// Start of VCL Directives
//***********************************************************************
  //Prefer Engine Direct2D by Kiriakos Vlahos
  //if supported by Windows Platform (from Windows Creators update)
  {.$DEFINE PreferNativeSvgSupport}
  {.$DEFINE GPUSupport}
  {$IFDEF PreferNativeSvgSupport}
    // Throw an exception if the SVG contains text elements or class attributes
    // which are not supported by Windows SVG. Since it costs some performance,
    // you should only turn it on during debugging or if it's absolutely necessary.
    {.$DEFINE CheckForUnsupportedSvg}
  {$ENDIF}

  //if PreferNativeSvgSupport not active or not available:
  //use Delphi Engine from Image32 library by Angus Johnson (included into Image32 folder)
  {$DEFINE Image32_SVGEngine}
  //or use Engine Skia with skia4delphi wrapper by Vinícius Felipe Botelho Barbosa (included into skia4delphi folder)
  {.$DEFINE Skia_SVGEngine}

  // When IgnoreAntiAliasedColor is set it svgs paints well but not perfect on
  // all backgrounds.  Works best with Delphi_SVGEngine
  {.$DEFINE IgnoreAntiAliasedColor}
  {$IF defined(Delphi_SVGEngine) and not defined(PreferNativeSvgSupport)}
    {$DEFINE IgnoreAntiAliasedColor}
  {$IFEND}

  //Check correct defines for VCL Apps
  {$IF NOT DEFINED(Image32_SVGEngine) and NOT DEFINED(Skia_SVGEngine) and NOT DEFINED(PreferNativeSvgSupport)}
    {$MESSAGE FATAL 'You must define at least one engine (Image32_SVGEngine or Skia_Engine or PreferNativeSvgSupport) into SVGIconImageList.inc)'}
  {$IFEND}

  {$IF DEFINED(Image32_SVGEngine) and DEFINED(Skia_SVGEngine)}
    {$MESSAGE FATAL 'You must define only one engine for VCL (Image32_SVGEngine or Skia_Engine) into SVGIconImageList.inc)'}
  {$IFEND}
//***********************************************************************
// End of VCL Directives
//***********************************************************************

//***********************************************************************
// Start of FMX Directives
//***********************************************************************
  //use Delphi Engine from Image32 library by Angus Johnson (included into Image32 folder)
  {$DEFINE FMX_Image32_SVGEngine}
  //or use Engine Skia with skia4delphi wrapper by Vinícius Felipe Botelho Barbosa (included into skia4delphi folder)
  {.$DEFINE FMX_Skia_SVGEngine}

  //Check correct defines for FMX Apps
  {$IF NOT DEFINED(FMX_Image32_SVGEngine) and NOT DEFINED(FMX_Skia_SVGEngine)}
    {$MESSAGE FATAL 'You must define at least one engine for FMX (FMX_Image32_SVGEngine or FMX_Skia_Engine) into SVGIconImageList.inc)'}
  {$IFEND}
//***********************************************************************
// End of FMX Directives
//***********************************************************************

For VCL, if you undefine PreferNativeSvgSupport and you do not call SetGlobalSVGFactory the Image32 or Skia4Delphi factory will always be used based on your define.

GPUSupport only applies to the Direct2D factory. If defined, Direct2D will use the GPU when possible. It's undefined by default because with some slower GPUs it may reduce performance.

Choosing the Right Engine

Use Image32 when:

✅ You want the default, tested, and stable choice
✅ No external dependencies are desired
✅ Good balance of features and performance is needed
✅ Working with complex SVGs (blur, gradients, etc.)
✅ Cross-platform compatibility (VCL + FMX)

Use Skia4Delphi when:

✅ Highest rendering quality is required
✅ Building cross-platform applications (VCL + FMX)
✅ Hardware acceleration is beneficial
✅ Working with complex SVG effects
❌ Accept additional deployment requirements (Skia DLL)

Use Direct2D when:

✅ Building Windows-only applications (10+)
✅ Native OS integration is preferred
✅ GPU acceleration is available
✅ SVGs don't use text elements or advanced features
❌ Don't need cross-platform support

Use SVGMagic when:

✅ Need compatibility with existing SVGMagic-based code
✅ Want runtime engine switching without recompile
✅ Windows-only deployment
✅ Working with standard SVG icons (not highly complex)
❌ Don't need the most advanced SVG features

Feature Comparison Matrix

Feature	Image32	Skia4Delphi	Direct2D	SVGMagic
No Dependencies	✅	❌ Needs DLL	✅ Native	❌ Needs DLL
Cross-Platform	✅ VCL+FMX	✅ VCL+FMX	❌ Windows	❌ Windows
Blur Effects	✅	✅	⚠️ Limited	❌
Text Elements	✅	✅	❌	✅
Gradients	✅	✅	✅	✅
Opacity Control	✅	✅	✅	✅ PostProcess
FixedColor	✅	✅	✅	✅ PostProcess
GrayScale	✅	✅	✅	✅ PostProcess
GPU Acceleration	❌	✅	✅	❌
Filters	✅ Most	✅ All	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Limited
Setup Complexity	Easy	Medium	Easy	Medium

Choice of SVG Factories (Delphi Image32, SKIA4Delphi, Direct2D wrapper, SVGMagic) ​

VCL Engines ​

FMX Engines ​

Comparison of the four factories ​

Support for SVG elements and presentation attributes ​

Performance ​

Performance Characteristics ​

Default SVG factory ​

Specifying an SVG factory ​

Examples ​

Conditional Defines ​

Choosing the Right Engine ​

Use Image32 when: ​

Use Skia4Delphi when: ​

Use Direct2D when: ​

Use SVGMagic when: ​

Feature Comparison Matrix ​

See Also ​

Choice of SVG Factories (Delphi Image32, SKIA4Delphi, Direct2D wrapper, SVGMagic)

VCL Engines

FMX Engines

Comparison of the four factories

Support for SVG elements and presentation attributes

Performance

Performance Characteristics

Default SVG factory

Specifying an SVG factory

Examples

Conditional Defines

Choosing the Right Engine

Use Image32 when:

Use Skia4Delphi when:

Use Direct2D when:

Use SVGMagic when:

Feature Comparison Matrix

See Also