pathlength

This attribute lets the author specify a total length for the path, in user units. This value is then used to calibrate the browser's distance calculations with those of the author, by scaling all distance computations using the ratio pathLength/(computed value of path length).

This can affect the actual rendered lengths of paths; including text paths, animation paths, and various stroke operations. Basically, all computations that require the length of the path. stroke-dasharray, for example, will assume the start of the path being 0 and the end point the value defined in the pathLength attribute.

Usage context

Example

<svg width="200" height="100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" version="1.1">
  <path pathLength="100" stroke-dasharray="90" fill="none" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" d="m 0,0 100,100 -50,-75 0,50 z"/>
  <path stroke-dasharray="90" fill="none" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" d="m 100,0 100,100 -50,-75 0,50 z"/>
</svg>

The path on the left has its pathLength set to 100, making the stroke-dasharray effectively cover 90% of the path, instead of only 90 user units like the path on the right.

Elements

The following elements can use the pathLength attribute:

• <path>

Browser compatibility