Export Support Matrix

6 min read

PinePaper exports a scene to many formats. They fall into two families with very different coverage:

  • Frame-capture formats (WebM, MP4, GIF, PNG-sequence) record the live canvas frame by frame, so they reproduce whatever the editor renders — backgrounds, generators, filters, blend modes, every relation, video, the lot.
  • Re-generated / structural formats (Animated SVG, HTML Widget, Lottie, glTF, BVH, still PNG/PDF) rebuild the scene from its data. These are smaller and editable/embeddable, but each only models part of the scene — so some features are dropped or flattened.

Rule of thumb: if you need maximum fidelity, export WebM/MP4/GIF. If you need a small, embeddable, accessible artifact, export the HTML Widget or Animated SVG and check the matrix below for what carries over.

Matrix

Legend: ✅ supported · ◐ partial / flattened · ✕ dropped · — not applicable

Backgrounds

Feature SVG Widget WebM/MP4/GIF PNG PDF Lottie
Solid color ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ◐ (color only)
Gradient (fill on a shape) ✕ ✅¹ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕
Gradient (canvas background) ✕ ◐² ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕
Generator background (gradient mesh, neon grid, …) ✕ ◐² ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕
Image background ✕ ✅² ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕
Video background ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕

¹ Gradient fills on shapes render in the widget (rebuilt as a CanvasGradient). ² Canvas-level gradient / generator backgrounds are rasterized to an embedded image at export time so they appear in the widget (a pixel snapshot — the generator no longer runs live).

Item types

Feature SVG Widget WebM/MP4/GIF PNG PDF Lottie glTF BVH
Text ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ — —
Shapes (circle/rect/star/polygon/path) ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ —
Images / rasters ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ —
Video items ◐³ ◐³ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ — —
Charts (bar/line/scatter/area) ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ — —
Maps ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ — —
Diagram shapes / connectors ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ — —
Letter-collage groups ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ◐ — —
Rigged / skeleton items ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ — ✅
3D items ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ ✅ —

³ Video items export their first frame as a still image in SVG/Widget.

Animations

Feature SVG Widget WebM/MP4/GIF PNG PDF Lottie
Simple (pulse/rotate/bounce/fade/wobble/shake/swing/jelly/breathe) ✅ (SMIL) ✅ ✅ ✕ (frame 0) ✕ (frame 0) ✅ (baked)
Keyframe animations ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕ ✕ ✅
Relations (orbits, follows, repels, wiggle, …) ◐⁴ ✅ (all) ✅ ✕ ✕ ◐⁵
Event relations (on_click/on_key/…) ✕ ✅ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕
Scroll-driven relations ✕ ✅ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕
Animated masks ✕ ✅ ✅ ✕ ✕ ✕
Filters / effects (blur, glow, cutout styles) ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕
Blend modes ✕ ✕ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✕

⁴ A subset of relations emit CSS animations in the Animated-SVG path; complex / interactive relations don’t. ⁵ Lottie bakes procedural relations to keyframes only when the scene baker runs.

Known limitations (by design — use a different format)

  • Static formats can’t animate. PNG and PDF capture a single frame. For an animated still, export a PNG-sequence or a video and pick a frame.
  • Interactivity only lives in the Widget. Event relations (click, key, pointer), scroll-driven motion, and cursor-reactive relations (repels/follows the cursor) require a running browser — they’re inert in SVG/Lottie/video.
  • Generators don’t ship as live code. The Widget is a minimal player; it doesn’t run the generator engine. Generator/decorative backgrounds are rasterized to an image on export instead (perfect for a static look; no live re-generation). For a live generator, embed the editor or use video.
  • Filters, blend modes, masks, 3D, rigging, maps are Canvas/GPU features that don’t have a faithful SVG or Lottie representation — they render in video and raster formats only (rigging also exports to BVH, 3D to glTF).
  • Lottie models keyframes well but not PinePaper’s procedural relation graph; enable the scene baker before export to bake relations into keyframes.
You want… Export
Maximum fidelity (everything moving) WebM (best quality) or MP4/GIF
Small, embeddable, accessible (screen-reader described) HTML Widget or Animated SVG
Print / high-DPI still PDF or PNG (up to 600 DPI)
Frame-accurate stills for compositing PNG-sequence
Hand off to After Effects / a Lottie player Lottie (enable scene baker for relations)
3D / rig into a game engine glTF (geometry) / BVH (motion)

Workarounds for the common gaps

  • Generator / gradient canvas background missing in SVG or older widget exports → it’s now auto-rasterized for the Widget. For SVG, bake the background: export it as a PNG, set that PNG as an image background, re-export.
  • Relation motion missing in SVG/Lottie → export the Widget (all relations) or a video.
  • Filters/blend/3D missing in SVG → export a video for fidelity.

This matrix reflects the export code as audited 2026-06. Frame-capture formats track the live canvas automatically; the structural-format columns are the ones to watch.