Hi everyone,

I'm trying to use Inkscape to make an icon-font via the SVG font editor. I should upload the SVG file to IcoMoon site in order to integrate my icons with some from the site. My problem is that if I upload the SVG file generated from Inkscape, IcoMoon show me three placeholders for the icons, which is correct because I made three icons, but the placeholders are empty. I've tryied all the possible SVG formats saving from Inkscape but always with the same result. By now my solution is to upload the Inkscape SVG to Free Online Font Converter site and convert it in SVG format and then upload the new SVG to IcoMoon and it works. I'm puzzled I have to convert an SVG to SVG but maybe there's something I don't know about Inkscape that make me to save the SVG font in the wrong way, is there a way to skip the conversion and upload to IcoMoon the Inkscape SVG directly?

I'm using Inkscape 0.48 on a Mac OSX 10.6.8

Thanks

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

I'm not familiar with IcoMoon. Have you looked into that site's specifications for uploaded content?

The only thing I can think might be an issue, is an Inkscape bug on Macs. If you use Paste anytime, anywhere in the file, the pasted content becomes rasterized. Although....well, I'm not sure how the IcoMoon site woud know whether there were raster content in the file. But having used an SVG converter, which apparently solved the problem....it sort of makes sense.

However, out of curiosity, I searched out http://icomoon.io (what the heck is .io? ). I made a simple test file and tried importing. At first, I was having the same experience as you. It looks like an empty placeholder. But after I click on it, my image opens and ready for whatever....well, there doesn't seem to be a lot of options there, so maybe I'm not in the same area of the site where you are.

Maybe you could go through the same routine, up until you use the converter? Then open both your original Inkscape file, and the new "converted" file in Inkscape, and look to see what the differences are (use XML Editor, if nothing is obvious on canvas). That might give you some clue about what makes the converted file's image show up.

That's about all I could suggest

Thanks Brynn,

As you probably already seen there's no specifications in IcoMoon site, they only say "upload SVG", I'm puzzled because the same file works in the font converter and don't in that site...

it's true that in mac when you copy and paste something in Inkscape the content became rasterized but this can be solved turning off the synchronization of the X11 cache with the OSX one in the X11 preferences. I say this just in case someone have this problem and don't know how to handle it because it's impossible to work with inkscape with the synchronized cache on

It's a very good idea to compare the two SVGs, shame on me to not have think about it by myself. I will do that and see the difference.
Thank you very much!

Good luck

Alright, I compared the two files and guess what?... they're different

This is the Inkscape file



and this is the converted (apparently with FontForge) one



Now I know that there's a difference (even if I already suspected ) but this isn't a solution to the problem, maybe there should be an option to save an SVG-Font file which create a file with a format more similar with the FontForge one in the Save window of Inkscape.
As work flow I think I will keep convert the SVG in SVG to make it work in IcoMoon, not a big deal

Thanks

Could this be it? File > New > fontforge_Glyph. Maybe starting with that specific type of file will cause it to be saved with the necessary info? Hhmm, I can't see anything that's obvious to me, difference between regular file and ffglyph file. Well, that doesn't seem to be the answer. But it seems like Inkscape should somehow be able to do that. Maybe the manual (duh).... Well, that's strike 3!

Glad it's "not a big deal"

I will try that, reading it seems promising
I followed some tutorial to create the SVG font and none of them say to make a new FontForge_Glyph but a normal SVG. I think this is the answer, will try and report

Well no. By "strike 3" I meant that I didn't find any info in the manual. Sorry if I used such an american phrase.

aaaah got it! baseball isn't it? means failure I suppose sorry I'm Italian and don't get this kind of phrases immediately

So I think I've got no options but to convert the file. I can handle it

Well, the problem was that your English is so good, I didn't catch on that you weren't a native English speaker.

I would say, at least you've got something that works for now. It may be that the people who know the right answer for this, just haven't seen the message yet. It seems to me like it shouldn't be so hard. Although again, maybe it's IcoMoon's specifications that are unusual. I'm just really not very knowledgeable about making fonts.

Well now since I know your Italian, did you know there's an Italian Inkscape forum? http://www.inkscapeforum.it/ I haven't visited in quite a while. Since they use a google translation program, I can have the messages translated, and still....almost understand them....and participate marginally. The translation is a great idea, but very poorly implemented in my opinion. If I were forced to use it, I would. But for casual discussions, it's just too difficult to understand. It's like the program translates all the words, and then puts them in some random order! Anyway, you should understand perfectly

I'm glad my English is good I'm always afraid not to write in a proper way and be misunderstood.

The process to create an Icon-font is mostly done in Inkscape. Convert the file it's a one-time-thing to do at the end of the process so is not a big problem, it can be done. Mine was more a curiosity than a real problem since seem strange to me having to convert an SVG in an SVG. Having said that it would obviously be faster and easier to use the Inkscape file directly but "You can't always get what you want" (if you spot this one you are either old, like me, or a fan ). If someone with a solution will come up I will change my workflow, by now I can handle it as it is.
Since I didn't find anyone with Inkscape SVG fonts problems I think that there's a too restrictive SVG format request in IcoMoon and if this is the case there's no solution in Inkscape itself I'm afraid.

I didn't know there's an Italian Inkscape forum, to be honest When I need help with something I always search for English written sites because seems to me that there's more people involved since English is an international language spoken even from not-English-mother-language people and thus there's more chances to find answers. I will give it a try, thank you!

...old, like me, or a fan...

Or both! ->
but always

Yeaahh!