Hi there,

I am currently using inkscape in an attempt to convert some jpgs to svg for use in another program. The creator of the program suggested i use this program to do just that, yet i am oblivious in how to achieve this. He said it is more than simply exporting the jpg as an svg to ensure scale remains constant.

He suggested using an option called 'trace bitmap'.

Am i on the right lines? Help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Matt

Open Inkscape
File > Import, and choose your jpg

Keep the image selected and go to

Path > Trace bitmap, you will get a popup to choose the option for tracing. It can be tricky to choose the right options for what you're trying to achieve.

Look here for further help: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Trace.html

Right, im having no luck with this so far. Can anyone give some advice as to how to simply convert a jpg file into an svg whilst maintaining size and ratio?

Cheers

Matt

What happens if you do that? Sometimes the trace is so good, you wont even notice its there - try moving the pic around to see whether it already traced. Also: Make sure the image is selected (in a little line-cage) when tracing, otherwise nothing will be traced.

With the jpg, in the dialog, try: Mulitple Scans - Color, and set the number of colors to anything between 2 and 250. Try around a little, and note that there is a preview: you have to hit the 'update' button, to get a feeling for what will happen

If you post your image or a link to a comparable one (same size, colors, motifs) we might be able to advise you on the specifics. If you get an error message along the way, post that, too.

Ok, well all the images im trying to convert are in this album http://gs83.photobucket.com/groups/j304/94JCWL3G0K/

I need to convert them to svg to import them into this geological program http://thames.cs.rhul.ac.uk/sedlog/

If anyone fancies having a quick look and helping me out id greatly appreciate it.

Matt

^ heh, those are the ideal type of images for tracing with inkscape.

here's what you have to do:

1. Import the image into inkscape (file -> import ... then browse to image)
2. Select the image with the tool
3. Open the "Trace Bitmap" dialog by going to Path -> Trace Bitmap (or Shift + Alt + B)
4. Make sure "brightness cutoff" is selected (its the first option I believe) and set the threshold to 0.9
5. Hit ok (or click on update for a preview)
6. Select the newly traced vector (it will be directly above the imported image, so you have to drag it to see it clearly)
7. Thats it, you can repeat the steps for all the other images.

It might seem a bit complicated, but its quite simple. I was able to make traces of those images in less than a minute (actually, if you want to save time or see a preview of the result, then I've uploaded the traces at -> http://www.petaimg.com/uploads/1223061633.svg). I had a few smoothing options enabled so the traces aren't pixel-precise. (In the Trace Bitmap dialog, there is an options tab. You can disable the automatic simplification and smoothing of the traces from there)

If you are going to save each vector individually, then make sure to go to File -> Document Properties (Shift + ctrl + D) and in the new dialog, click on the button that says "Fit page to selection" (make sure to have your vector trace selected)

That should do it.

Thankyou so much, this has really helped me out

Matt