Can anyone help?
I've recently started to use Inkscape, which I think is great. However, I'm having some issues with saving my work when I create drop-shadow, blurs etc. I'm using Windows Vista with a Chrome browser. Here's the situation:

1. I group all the elements together, save the image in svg, create a filename and all is OK. I'm then able to re-open and amend the image.

So now I want to use the image on a WordPress website and so I have to use as a png file.

2. I group all the elements together, click Export, tab highlighted is Page. I choose 'Browse' and name the image. Then I export the image. When I check the image, none of the blur, drop-shadows etc have been saved. I simply get the 'plain' image.

3. So I then group all elements together, and go to File>>Save As. I then Save as a png file. However, when I open this image on my WordPress site (or in say MS Office Picture Manager, Photoshop Elements etc), then again none of the embellishments have been saved.

I simply don't understand what I'm doing wrong. BTW - I'm not a techncial person. I've look at the official Manual and a couple of others, but I can't seem to find any help on the correct ways to Save the Inkscape work. I would greatly appreciate any assistance or indeed being pointed to a good tutorial on the Saving process. Thank You.

Caroline

Weird. What's Inkscape's version?

Hi Caroline,

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

I've never heard of a tutorial for saving files. But we should be able to figure out the problem here. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Export Bitmap is the proper way to convert a file to PNG. (Save As PNG is not appropriate, which has something to do with the "Cairo PNG", that I unfortunately can't explain.)(because I don't understand it)

So this leaves the culprit either something to do with the file itself, or maybe with the file viewer. Although I think you said you looked at it actually on the WordPress site, so it's probably not the viewer.

Since you say that you exported the Page, the first thing to check is that everything that you want to show on the WordPress page, lies within the page border. The page border on the Inkscape canvas is enabled by default. So unless you disabled it, you can easily see whether everything is inside the border.

If it is, open the Export Bitmap dialog and double-check that the dimensions shown are the same as the page size. They should be already, but sometimes funky things can happen. If they are the same as your page size, they we can be pretty sure the export included everything (although you could always try the Export again, just to be thorough).

Next, let's make sure the missing items are not hidden (transparent, or on a hidden or transparent layer)....just on the chance that you forgot to restore the visibility before exporting.

If none of the above solves or reveals the problem, then I'm pretty much stumped! If no one else has replied by the time you see this, maybe you could upload your file for me and/or others to examine. (Can be uploaded as attachment to a message. Look below Save, Preview and Submit buttons, click on Upload Attachment and follow prompts.) The only other thing I can think might be happening, is that the missing items aren't really missing, but somehow got moved outside the page border (which would be related to a bug).

Since you're exporting as a page and all your drawing elements are within the page, it's not necessary to group the drawing. Try this, don't group the paths/objects and see if it helps make a difference. You could also export with the "Drawing tab" highlighted, which will include everything on the Inkscape canvas. No need to group your drawing here either.

I'm not a Windows user but are your drawings looking wrong even if you view them in the Windows file manager?

I seem to remember some strangeness when grouping objects, or quite possibly ungrouping object, that wouldn't show properly. My memory is failing me.

prokoudine wrote:Weird. What's Inkscape's version?

Hi - the version I'm using is 0.481.

Yes, it is weird, isn't it!

Caroline

Hi Brynn & Jaws - thank you so much for your quick replies. I very much appreciate this. I've been at the seaside all day today, so will be trying out your suggestions in the next day or so.

I do hope that I can report back that all is sorted, so will keep my fingers crossed! thank you both again.

Caroline

Hello Everyone - thank you so much for your help. We have success - here's what I found:

In all examples, none of the elements were grouped (I had previously grouped them)
The canvas was the same size in the Export window
All examples were saved using the Export Bitmap function

Example 1. This was saved with the Selection Tab highlighted in the Export window. All embellishments present.
Example 2. This was saved with the Drawing Tab highlighted. All embellishments present.
Example 3. This was saved using the Page Tab. None of the embellishments were present when saved and the size differed to that in the page size (H and W)

All images loaded into WordPress site and the drop-shadow, blurs etc all present!
I didn't try using the Custom tab in the Export window as I was so pleased to have saved everything. I'll come back to this when I get a bit more experience.

So, mission accomplished. May I ask 1 more Q of you - what, if any, are the down sides of Inkscape over say, Adobe Illustrator for someone not doing this for a living, but more than just for a hobby?

Caroline

Example 1. This was saved with the Selection Tab highlighted in the Export window. All embellishments present.
Example 2. This was saved with the Drawing Tab highlighted. All embellishments present.
Example 3. This was saved using the Page Tab. None of the embellishments were present when saved and the size differed to that in the page size (H and W)

Ah! That would imply to me that the embellishments fall outside the page border. But I'm glad you got it to work as you wanted

Disadvantages of using Inkscape over Illustrator, as a hobby?
Well, I do use Inkscape as a hobby! But I've never used Illustrator. So I can't necessarily make any personal comments. But I do know that there are some features of each not shared by the other. So if you happen to need something that Illustrator has that Inkscape doesn't, you might be stuck. On one hand, there might be a way to do the same thing with Inkscape, but in a different way. On the other hand, in my use of Inkscape as a hobby, I haven't run into anything I wanted to do, that Inkscape can't....except for converting raster formatted images to SVG without loss of detail. But Illustrator can't do that either, nor can any other program. I really do love Inkscape, and far prefer it over raster graphics programs. (actually....If I'm not mistaken, Illustrator is capable of both raster and vector graphics?....so on 2nd thought, if you're asking for a raster vs vector comparison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics) well, as I said, I love Inkscape and far prefer vector to raster graphics.)