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Help Using Inkscape => Inkscape Beginners' Questions => Topic started by: laukejas on June 03, 2019, 03:23:00 AM

Title: Cannot convert SVG to DXF - what exactly is wrong with this file?
Post by: laukejas on June 03, 2019, 03:23:00 AM
Hi,

I hope I'm posting this to the correct section of this forum. I have an SVG file generated by software called Sailcut. I am attaching that file to this post. I need to convert that file to DXF so I can import it to Onshape. I open it with Inkscape, and it looks good. I click File-SaveAs, choose DXF, and save it. Unfortunately, for some reason, the resulting DXF contains no geometry. I tried to open it with various DXF viewers, as well as import it to Onshape, but the file seems empty. Apart from Inkscape, I tried various online SVG-to-DXF converters, but they too produce an empty file.

I am new to Inkscape and I don't know much about SVG files. Can someone please take a look and tell me what have I missed?

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Title: Re: Cannot convert SVG to DXF - what exactly is wrong with this file?
Post by: brynn on June 04, 2019, 03:23:22 AM
Welcome to the forum!

First, the image is outside the page border (far outside).  That might explain some of the trouble you're having.  I think the DXF conversion would convert it, even though it's outside the page border (although I don't know that for a fact), but you might not have looked outside the page border.

Also, it's huge (approx 2900 x 4600 px).  So it could possibly be in the DXF file you made, but you just don't notice it, because it's larger than your screen.  The image consists of a few blue lines, so it wouldn't be hard to miss them, if one of the lines doesn't pass through your screen.  Maybe try scrolling around?  Or zoom out?

I would start all over, and when you open the SVG in Inkscape, make sure the drawing is inside the page border, at 100% zoom.  Then try the conversion again.  You can set the page border to fit the drawing perfectly this way:

 - Ctrl a (select all)
 - Document Properties > Page tab > Resize page to contents
 - File menu > Save As SVG  (this way, if something goes wrong, you don't have to start all over again)
 - File menu > Save As DXF