hello,

situation: i want to import a dxf drawing but not only the lines, i want to get the layers in inkscape.
i read a lot of threads but they all said that the only way to get a dxf in inkscape is converting it to a svg file.(with dxf2svg) but this isn't a good solution.

then i made some tests with illustrator. so i saved a file with layers and opened it in inkscape.
but finally realized that inkscape isn't getting the layers of other e.g ai svg files?! or is there a way to get them?

regards

I don't think there is a way to get them, sorry. SVG doesn't have layers. The layers you can create in Inkscape are an Inkscape-specific feature so no other program will create them. I don't think the file convertor component of Inkscape is Inkscape-specific so I'm not sure it creates any Inkscape-specific SVG. I think it just creates a normal SVG (which doesn't support layers).

I think the Adobe Illustrator SVG option in the open dialog is supposed to be able to convert Adobe layers into Inkscape layers, although I don't know how well it works. You may need to rename your file in order to open it this way, as it seems to expect Illustrator SVG filenames to end in .ai.svg

mmm, thx for your answers. look at this http://www.w3schools.com/svg/svg_reference.asp -> http://www.w3schools.com/svg/el_femerge.asp and this http://www.w3schools.com/svg/femerge_1.svg

and because of this i think this with the layers of a svg file must be possible, because when inkscape is parsing the svg file, it must recognize the layers or else the drawing can't do the thing with the text. or am i wrong? perhaps i can write a script to create for each layer an inkscape layer?!

regards

monkey_ph.d wrote:and because of this i think this with the layers of a svg file must be possible

They are just seperate objects. Objects are inherently layered, as in, they are stacked one above the other. Inkscape creates layers using SVG groups. When I say there are no layers in SVG, I mean there is no <LAYER> tag that all SVG editors will treat equally.

Although I'll admit my knowledge in this area is limited.

ahh okay, thx. only one last question
is there a vector file format for inkscape which supports real layers and is compatible to other programs?
or how would you handle this?

monkey_ph.d wrote:ahh okay, thx. only one last question
is there a vector file format for inkscape which supports real layers and is compatible to other programs?
or how would you handle this?

I would refer to Sas's reply above for the answer to that.