selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

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taia82

selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby taia82 » Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:43 am

I am a first time user and can't seem to figure this one out. I imported a vector image and want to use only one element in file. I can't seem to select it by itself so I can cut it out and use it alone. It always just selects the entire image and clones the whole thing. I'm not a designer, so layman's terms would be highly appreciated!

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brynn
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Re: selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby brynn » Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:52 am

Ok, so you imported a vector image. When you say "imported", do you mean that you opened Inkscape and went File menu > Import? Or did you simply Open the vector image in Inkscape? Is the vector image actually SVG or some other vector format? I believe it will have to be SVG, to be editable in Inkscape, but I'm not positive.

Is this vector image something you created in another program? If so, you could isolate that part of the image that you want to use in Inkscape, and save it as a separate image, using the other program. If possible, be sure to save as SVG. Then you could open in or import into Inkscape.

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sas
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Re: selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby sas » Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:55 am

It's probably in a group, so when you click on it the whole group is selected. To avoid selecting the whole group, hold the Ctrl key down while clicking.

llogg
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Re: selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby llogg » Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:50 pm

what is the file extension of your vector image?

taia82

Re: selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby taia82 » Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:16 am

I tried holding down Ctrl, it didn't do anything different. But it's an AI file extension and I did import it through the Import button in the toolbar. Is Inkscape capable of saving this file as an SVG so I can edit it? I got this off one of those free clipart sites, so I can't just get one element that I drew. If this is a grouping, how do I select only one element? Thanks for all the help!

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sas
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Re: selecting and cloning an area in an imported file

Postby sas » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:26 am

taia82 wrote:But it's an AI file extension and I did import it through the Import button in the toolbar.

Do you have the same problem if you use Open instead of Import?

Is Inkscape capable of saving this file as an SVG so I can edit it?

Inkscape converts it to SVG when you open or import it. So you can save it as SVG if you like, but I doubt that will help.

I got this off one of those free clipart sites

Could you post a link to it? That would make it easier for us to find out what the problem is.


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