Trace support

Email [email protected]. Include your macOS version and, if a file misbehaves, the file itself if you can share it — Trace documents are plain SVG, so you can open them in a text editor first and remove anything private.

Common questions

Which files does Trace open?

SVG files, Trace's own .tracesvg (a multi-page document), and PNG images for viewing. An SVG that uses features outside Trace's editable subset opens in a read-only preview so it is never rewritten.

Will other apps open what I make?

Yes. A single-page document is an ordinary .svg that any browser, design tool or developer can use. Trace keeps its own extras (named colors, auto layout, components) in data- attributes that other apps ignore. A document with two or more pages is saved as .tracesvg; export a page as SVG from the inspector to hand it to another app.

Where do my images go?

Three choices, set per document in the Document inspector's Images section or as an app-wide default in Settings ▸ Images: inline (inside the file), linked file (a folder next to the document, or one you choose), or remote (your own S3-compatible bucket). An image's own mode can be changed in its inspector at any time.

Trace asked for access to a folder

Linked images are separate files, and the macOS sandbox lets Trace see only the document you opened. The one-time "Grant Access" prompt is how you allow it to read or write the images beside it. Choose the folder it points at; the permission is remembered.

Setting up a storage bucket

Settings ▸ Storage ▸ Add. Enter the endpoint, region, bucket name and your access key pair, then Test Connection: it uploads and reads back a tiny object, checks whether the bucket is publicly readable, and deletes what it made. Works with Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO and other S3-compatible services. Credentials stay in your Keychain.

Make Public says the bucket doesn't accept object ACLs

Some providers decide visibility per bucket, not per object: Cloudflare R2 ignores object permissions, and recent Amazon S3 buckets have them disabled with "Block Public Access" on. Make the bucket or a folder public in the provider's console instead — or use Copy Share Link, which works everywhere and expires.

A font looks different in another app

Trace uses the fonts installed on your Mac and writes their names into the SVG. On a Mac without that font, viewers substitute another. Use Object ▸ Create Outlines on a copy to turn text into paths that render identically anywhere.

Something in a file isn't editable

Locked shapes (a lock in the object list) can only be selected from the list; shapes that came from a page template are locked on purpose and are edited on the master page. Right-click a shape for Lock and Unlock.

Requirements

macOS 26 or later. Apple silicon recommended.