Change image file format from png to svg

[tsalo]

Summary

I think SVG files are more useful for manuscripts than PNG files, but I'm not sure what (if any) drawbacks there would be to switching. Please weigh in if you have a concern.

Yea: :+1: Nay: :-1:

Next Steps

1. Discuss
2. Implement

[eurunuela]

My only concern is: can I react with a bigger thumbs-up emoji? 😅

I can't think of any drawbacks, to be honest.

[tsalo]

@ME-ICA/tedana-devs does anyone have an issue with this? I could get a PR done pretty quickly if everyone is okay with it.

[dowdlelt]

I'm not incredibly familiar with potential drawbacks - as long as it is more or less possible to open with default utilities on all platforms and isn't (too) slow to cycle between multiple, then I say go for it. Seems like a clear potential upgrade.

[notZaki]

I'm in favour of using svg, but I'll mention a few potential drawbacks anyways:

• unfamiliarity
  • some users could be manually viewing the png files from the figures folder instead of using the html report, and they might not know how to view svg files---even though it is usually as simple as opening it with a web browser, as long as it isn't IE8.
• variable file size
  • png file size is roughly proportional to its dimensions, whereas svg file size depends on content. For example, an svg of a signal-vs-time plot of a single component will depend on the number of timepoints
  • I would still expect svg file to be smaller than a high-resolution png in most circumstances, but it might be worth checking to make sure large svg files aren't being produced
• font handling is a bit tricky
  • text in svg files can either be included:
    • as is; file assumes font is installed and this can cause problems if file is viewed on a different system
    • with an embedded font; might not be supported by all svg viewers
    • as curves; leads to a larger file size, and text can't be edited with svg editors
  • I think matplotlib defaults to the 'curves' option, but the 'as is' option might be more convenient for manuscripts

[tsalo]

@notZaki thanks for the info about svg files. I am not as familiar with the different formats so it's great to have the drawbacks compiled. It sounds like we should be fine as long as we (1) update the documentation a little bit so users know how to open the files and (2) adjust the matplotlib settings for the files.

[dowdlelt]

Perhaps it should be an option? I kind of hate to suggest it, because I know it is annoying, but I wouldn't think about using a web browser as my goto option - I don't deal with svgs often. I think the default being svg is a good choice, given the potential benefits, but I'm imagining someone cursing our name because it is now a struggle to quickly cycle through images. I know in the past I've wanted to quickly jump through a series of images, or use feh on linux to spin through them from the terminal.