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Post by scrapbookwriter on Feb 23, 2022 18:08:45 GMT
I have collected a bunch of cutfiles (usually in zipped form). I know how to extract a file from a zipped format, but then what?
Thanks so much for your help.
Edited to add:
When I extract the file it is in PNG format. How do I change it to an SVG?
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Ryann
Pearl Clutcher
Love is Inclusive
Posts: 2,645 
Location: PNW
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Post by Ryann on Feb 23, 2022 18:45:04 GMT
I have collected a bunch of cutfiles (usually in zipped form). I know how to extract a file from a zipped format, but then what? Thanks so much for your help. Step one is to determine if your edition of the Silhouette Studio software supports importing SVG files: www.silhouetteamerica.com/software/chartThe Silhouette America site has a lot of resources. I typed into the search bar "Import SVG File" and there were a lot of results that would be helpful. |
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gramma
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,124
Location: Sacramento, Ca
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Post by gramma on Feb 23, 2022 18:51:32 GMT
Once you have the file unzipped open your silhouette software. Click on "File" "Open". Locate your file and double click on it. Quite often there will be a separate file for each part of the image. For example - A bear with flowers would probably have one file for the bear and one for the flowers.
Check out the "Silhouette School" - there is a wealth of info there
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,460
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 23, 2022 21:56:21 GMT
You need the lowest cost version of the Silhouette software (not free version) to use SVG files, but you can usually find it on sale at least a few times per year. It’s a one time cost, and it’s worth it. (Even more worth it if you can get the software upgrade for sale.)
I eventually bought the business version, which is another cost upgrade, and which might be needed for PNG files.
I have the business version, which I also got on sale. They usually have a software sale close to Mothers Day, but they might have a sale before then.
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Post by scrapbookwriter on Feb 23, 2022 23:01:50 GMT
You need the lowest cost version of the Silhouette software (not free version) to use SVG files, but you can usually find it on sale at least a few times per year. It’s a one time cost, and it’s worth it. (Even more worth it if you can get the software upgrade for sale.) I eventually bought the business version, which is another cost upgrade, and which might be needed for PNG files. I have the business version, which I also got on sale. They usually have a software sale close to Mothers Day, but they might have a sale before then. I have the Designer Edition. (I love being able to access glyphs!) The Silhouette website says Designer Edition allows me to "import and work with SVG and PDF files." None of the software descriptions mention PNG files. I feel sure there's a way to change a PNG to SVG. I'm just not sure what it is. |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,460
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 24, 2022 5:42:56 GMT
It’s been awhile since I used a PNG file, so I did a search on the Silhouette site. You bring the PNG file into the software, then trace it. I know I have done it, but it’s been awhile, so I’m just giving you links to the info on their site: Using different file types in Silhouette
How to trace a design in Silhouette
How to do the trace is in the second info box of the second link. |
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Post by jjpeapea on Feb 24, 2022 12:21:36 GMT
There is a site called pngtosvg.com. It could be a good first step to the conversion. Then import the svg and do further clean up.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,460
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 24, 2022 14:55:17 GMT
There is a site called pngtosvg.com. It could be a good first step to the conversion. Then import the svg and do further clean up. Yes, it might be a good step for someone who has never done a trace and feels overwhelmed at trying it. However, learning to do tracing of PNG or clip art images allows you to have more control right from the start, and that can be the difference between a decent conversion or a bad one. Basic tracing is simple. Making adjustments for complicated images to get a better trace is a useful skill, though, and minimizes the amount of clean up. I prefer to take the time to make the adjustments to get a better trace than to have to do more clean up. Depending on the design, some parts may trace well, and others will require a lot of clean up. Playing around with the controls has let me know that what works well for one design doesn’t always work well on every design. Being able to do your own tracing is a good skill to learn. I’ve done a lot of tracings lately, mostly because I want to turn Disney clip art designs of my choice into cutting files, for making my own very unique t-shirts for a hoped for Disney trip, then later also be able to use the same cutting files for a scrapbook page later. The more I play with tracing clip art, the better I get. I did download a few designs that were in PNG format, but I can’t remember if any of the designs I have actually converted so far were PNG or not. If they were, apparently they would have come into the software as an image, not a cutting file, so I would have treated (and traced) them the same as if they were a JPG image. scrapbookwriter , do you mind showing us the image of what the PNG file looks like? I can probably tell how difficult it would be to trace by looking at it. |
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Post by jjpeapea on Feb 24, 2022 16:48:57 GMT
scrapnnana so true! I've fiddled with Inkscape changing images to cuts. I've had success with things with clear "edges" but not so much with complicated images. There are other png to svg sites out there, but BEWARE some of them could come with unwanted files downloaded to your computer. If people have a strong antivirus they should be OK.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,460
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 25, 2022 0:51:32 GMT
I did find one PNG file that I’ve traced. The first time that I traced it, I used the settings that the software automatically uses. It resulted in an image that needed more clean up than I wanted to do. By playing around with the trace settings, I was able to get a much cleaner image. I originally included it in this post, but since it was a Disney image, I thought I might get in trouble with Disney lawyers, so I’ve removed it and edited this post down.
JPG and PNG files are similar, but PNG images have a transparent background, so you could potentially add the PNG image to a photo, to artwork, etc. Digital scrapbookers often use PNG files.
For practical uses, they are essentially the same to the Silhouette software. You have to trace them to cut them, or you can add them to a tag that you print and cut.
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