I'm still relatively new in Inkscape and vector programs in general, but I haven't had this issue up until now. When I save a document as a PDF in Inkscape, I usually never had any problems; but lately whenever I reopen my projects, the text font is entirely switched to something different to the point where I have to hunt down my previous font, AND all of my layers have been completely wiped out, replaced by a single layer named after my document. Also frustrating is the uncooperative Save function which will not let me record my work after a period of time ( this includes Save, Save as, and Save a Copy.) I'm sure plenty of you know how irksome recreating graphics, layers, etc. can be after setbacks like this. If anyone can tell me a solution or whether I'm doing something improper to cause these problems, I'd appreciate your help. Thanks.

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

Yes it's true, when you save an Inkscape doc as PDF, you lose all the layers. Therefore, it's probably a good idea to always keep an identical SVG file, in case you ever need to edit.

If the text font that's displayed in the PDF is not the same font you created, it's because either the font is unstable (couldn't be converted), or it's not available to the viewer (Adobe Reader?) or for some reason. This could happen if you open the PDF on a different computer, which might not have that font installed. You can prevent this by using Path menu > Object to Path on the text. However, if the doc is primarily text, this might not really be feasible. That's because once you convert the text to path, you can no longer edit as text. So another good reason to keep an SVG file, just in case. But for occasional text, it's a good solution. You could also look at the dialog, at the time when you Save As -- it has some....or well, I can't remember, maybe only 1 option for handling text. Perhaps that would be a suitable solution in some cases.

The trouble that you're having saving files -- is that because you're not getting the usual Save As dialog? If that's what happens, it's a bug in version 0.48.2 on Windows (maybe Windows XP only, I can't remember for sure) which happens only when the file was previously saved to a root directory, such as C:\\ or a flash drive, for example. I think moving the file into a folder will fix it. And it's already been fixed in the next Inkscape version.

But if it's some other problem with saving, we'll need to know details about how the problem expresses itself, Inkscape version, operating system, any error messages, etc.

I hope some of that helps

Thanks for the warm welcome and the helpful advice. You covered all the problems and the solutions make sense. I didn't know about the shaky layer/PDF relationship but I'll heed the warning from now on. I just wanted to save space on my laptop and flash, as well as the hardware belonging to the person whom I'm creating this project for, by avoiding saving as an SVG.

I think I already applied your advice concerning the text with my last save a while ago. I entered "convert text to path" in the Save As dialog. That should keep my original font but I guess I won't be able to tweak it anymore. I'll check my viewer again, too.

No dialog boxes or otherwise would appear after saving once during my work; but I've been saving on my root directory AND flash drive on this thing, so that it explains my troubles with that. I'll have to create a folder seperate from the root to save my progress? Could I copy the "projects" folder I've been keeping it in and paste it on the D drive to help?

Thanks again for all of your help.

cmundy33 wrote:I'll have to create a folder seperate from the root to save my progress? Could I copy the "projects" folder I've been keeping it in and paste it on the D drive to help?

I'm not sure, but I think it should work.