# EPUBCheck HTM-048: SVG page without viewBox, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/htm-048/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck HTM-048 is an error message: “SVG Fixed-Layout Documents must have a "viewBox" attribute (on the outermost "svg" element).” A fixed-layout document built as SVG has no viewBox on its outermost svg element, so its size is unknown. For SVG fixed-layout pages the viewBox is what defines the page's dimensions.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): SVG Fixed-Layout Documents must have a "viewBox" attribute (on the outermost "svg" element).
- Default severity: Error

## Typical causes

- SVG pages exported with width and height but without viewBox.
- A viewBox placed on an inner svg or g element instead of the outermost one.

## How to fix it

1. Open the file EPUBCheck names (the message gives the path, line and column) in a text or EPUB editor such as Sigil, or unzip the EPUB and open it there.
2. Add a viewBox to the outer svg element, for example viewBox="0 0 1200 1600" (x, y, width, height).
3. Use the same width and height the artwork was drawn at, so nothing is cropped or stretched.
4. Rebuild the EPUB and run EPUBCheck again to confirm the message is gone.

## When it's not this

If the fixed-layout page is XHTML, the size comes from a viewport meta element and the message is HTM-046.

## Sources

- EPUB 3.3, §8.2.2.6 Content document dimensions: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-33/#sec-fxl-content-dimensions (read 2026-11-04)

Message text and severity: EPUBCheck (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation: EpubCC.