Proof grade settings dont seem to work on pro

I am doing the tutorial “make a gift tag from scratch”. This is the second time I’ve turned it on and the laser does nothing. Last time I had to manually put in my settings with help from the community. I’m using proof grade material as suggested. So the settings that are up with no input from me are engrave -as graphic-550 speed 70 power, score-draft-300 speed 40 power, and cut 170 speed full power. I thought that by using proof grade material it would detect the settings but it goes on and their is no spark at all. The head just goes back and forth. Please help me.

How/where was the file created? What material are you using? Please share a screenshot of your settings and the artwork on the interface.

Through Inkscape on the tutorial from glowforge, I’m using the proof grade medium draft board as suggested in the tutorial

Did you let the entire process complete, or stop when the engraving didn’t work?

Stopped it when I saw that there was no spark, last time the teal button started to turn red. This is my 3 rd time using it. The measuring tool was no issue. I thought maybe because I used ink scape and it comes through as a svg. But it wasn’t that my settings defaulted to no power.

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So once they helped me get my settings corrected the second project worked. Now I’m back to the same issue with the third project

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It is possible that you did not get the text converted to a path properly. If this step is not completed, it will not be engraved. The text will also not be engraved if there are two files stacked on top of one another. I suggest selecting the text and choosing “ignore” in the interface, then run the project and see if the score and cut work. By the way, I was the one helping you with your engrave for the person that gifted you the Glowforge. We will get you up to speed on this project as well.

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Lol I thought it was you, I will try that.

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That worked now I need to figure out what I did wrong with my text. I swear I feel like I belong in a kindergarten class !

If you miss the step where you select the text and convert to path then the text remains text. The Glowforge interface does not process this kind of text. However, if you have the premium features and use the text tool to create your text, it will be engraved.

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So in the tutorial it says… convert your text- click and drag inside your text box to select all your text then choose “path” from the menu bar and click “object to path.” You can’t edit your text anymore but now it will print properly… will that engrave it like it says in the tutorial. It is what I was sure I did but maybe I messed up.

Yes that is the important step. After selecting the text and converting to path, click an empty place on your design. Then click your text again. At the bottom of Inkscape, it should not say that you have selected “text” is should say something like 15 objects.

Ahh ok I’m determined to learn this thank you for helping

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Hi @sunnywillow68, you’re getting all the right advice from @dklgood. Thank you @dklgood!

It looks like the issue you were having had been resolved. Since y’all are having some great back and forth, rather than closing the thread I’m going to move over to the Everything Else section. That way you can continue working together, and it won’t remain an open support ticket.

Should you run into any trouble with you Glowforge, please open a new thread in Problems and Support and we’ll be happy to help.

Happy New Year!

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For the life of me I can’t figure out how to make the text go to object to path. I had it once and now it’s gone .

Type your text. Using the select tool, select your text. Click object to path. Click away from your test. Click the text again and see if you get the correct message at the bottom of the page.

After Object to path

After converting the text to path, you may want to select the text and click union
so that it becomes one graphic item. This is especially important when using script text as this will eliminate blank spots where the letters overlap. Anther frustrating thing that happens as you are learning about text.

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Follow this step by step and you will ready to go:

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I got it !! I sat down and watched about 10 utube videos. Strange enough nothing comes up on the bottom of my screen when I would want to check the text. I have a brand new Microsoft pro. It’s engraving now. Thank you so much for your help yet again. I am determined to learn this ! :blush:

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Lol, I promise you, you aren’t the first one to feel like this. I’ve been here almost two years, and I still feel like that at times. But, you’ll get it. There is a huge resource of smarter people than me on this forum.
What’ll will continue to get you (or at least it does me) is when I know what I have to do, and still forget to do it. Like converting text to a path… all the time…

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