<use>

The <use> element takes nodes from within the SVG document, and duplicates them somewhere else. The effect is the same as if the nodes were deeply cloned into a non-exposed DOM, and then pasted where the use element is, much like cloned template elements in HTML5. Since the cloned nodes are not exposed, care must be taken when using CSS to style a use element and its hidden descendants. CSS attributes are not guaranteed to be inherited by the hidden, cloned DOM unless you explicitly request it using CSS inheritance.

For security reasons, some browsers could apply a same-origin policy on use elements and could refuse to load a cross-origin URI within the href attribute.

Since SVG 2, the xlink:href attribute is deprecated. See xlink:href page for more informations.

Usage context

CategoriesGraphics element, Graphics referencing element, Structural element
Permitted contentAny number of the following elements, in any order:
Animation elements
Descriptive elements

Attributes

Global attributes

Specific attributes

DOM Interface

This element implements the SVGUseElement interface.

Example

<svg width="80" height="80" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <style>
    .classA {
      fill: red;
    }
  </style> 
  <defs>
    <g id="Port">
      <circle style="fill: inherit;" r="10"/>
    </g>
  </defs>
  <text y="15">black</text>
  <use x="50" y="10" href="#Port" />
  <text y="35">red</text>
  <use x="50" y="30" href="#Port" class="classA"/>
  <text y="55">blue</text>
  <use x="50" y="50" href="#Port" style="fill: blue;"/>
</svg>

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2
The definition of '<use>' in that specification.		 Candidate Recommendation  
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition)
The definition of '<use>' in that specification.		 Recommendation Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 22 12 4.0 (Yes) 11.5

5.1
Load from external URI 22 13 4.0 No support 11.5 6.1
Load from data: URI 22 (Yes) 4.0 No support 11.5 5.1
Feature Android Edge Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support 4.0 12 4.0 (Yes) 11.5

5.1
Load from external URI 4.4 13 4.0 No support 11.5 6.1
Load from data: URI 4.0 (Yes) 4.0 No support 11.5 5.1

Notes

Document Tags and Contributors

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 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills, JD342, yank7, valtlai, mattwojo, hexalys, Sebastianz, jwhitlock, decatur, bfred-it, kscarfone, seth, Jeremie, jswisher, trevorh, Waldo, Wjjohnst
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,