Selecting individual parts of an Inkscape upload

I’ve uploaded a simple design drawn in Inkscape-three nested rectangles, ungrouped, with different colors assigned to each. In one instance I want them all cut, and in another instance I want only some cut.

I want to perform this All/Some cutting operation, using copy-paste of the original then select-delete of some elements of the copied parts.

While Glowforge does show my upload as 3 different rectangles, and I am able to assign different cut/scoring/engrave settings to each one, I am not able to select individual rectangles in either the original or the copy to change a setting from say, Cut to Ignore, or to select a rectangle and delete it entirely. GF only lets me select the whole design. This means I can’t do one operation to complete the task.

To recap: Inkscape file. Different-colored objects. Ungrouped. Unable to select individual objects.

I am 80% sure I used to be able to do this, but not 100%.

(Please tell me this feature wasn’t rolled into the Premium package.)

enlarged model base

Ah, you’re being bitten by the “things enclosed by other things get lumped together” feature of the GFUI. You won’t be able to individually select them with the mouse. I kind of hate it. :frowning:

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Yup, sorry. Things inside other things have always been grouped, not a premium feature. However, since they’re different colors they should show up as separate steps in the left side menu that you can set to score/cut/engrave/ignore.

when you duplicate rasters in the GFUI you get individual instances and can set different settings for each. when you duplicate vectors, all instances of said vector get the one setting applied.

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Ok, then. Darn.

Maybe I’m just mis-remebering, or wanting to do something a little different than I’ve done in the past and have uncovered something that’s been around for a while. I guess it’ll just have to be separate operations. Not the end of the world.

Thanks, everyone, for the quick responses!

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If you copy/paste a raster it will get a new layer on the side that can have different settings. If you copy paste a vector it will stay on the same layer, and will not get individual settings. you can delete the vector and undo after the cut is done.

If you use crossing it will select all the crossing reaches but if it is away from one of the interior parts it will not be included but the same crossing will be inside the outside one and get everything.

If you pick a point exactly on a line you will pick just that piece, a tiny bit off the line will pick everything. All this was not the case previously when any picking got everything.

I discovered this in its bug form when I went to move the whole thing and left some parts behind. A little time just playing with experimental stuff can highlight the nuances for future reference.

I had a similar project need, multiple copies of the same object to print, but only able to change the cut/score manual settings on one, with it being applied to all of the copies. Instead of using copy -paste, I just upload an additional copy of the file again for each variation I want to change a setting for. It takes a bit longer, but I can have as many of the same objects as I want, all with different settings, printing at the same time on one job.

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Oh no, I’m sorry you’ve hit a snag.

@geek2nurse , @ekla , and @jbv , are correct. Would you let us know if you have any additional follow-up questions?

I changed my mind, JeremyH. I do have a follow-up. I re-opened an old .svg file (honeycomb hold-down pins–attached). As I was copy-pasting them, I saw that I was able to select individual parts of the file. So I am confused. I’m sure this has to do with my understanding of different file types, but all that was talked about above was vectors and rasters. Is this not a vector file?

Honeycomb hold-down pins

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You’re correct that both your design and the hold-down pin design are vector files. I’ve investigated the difference in behavior you observed further and I have some information which may help.

The individual elements in the design you created are being grouped together because there is a closed vector shape around the other objects in the design. The outline on the hold-down pin design, however, is made up of a series of separate vector paths and there isn’t a single closed shape around the other objects. To help illustrate this better I applied a different color to each section of the outline:

When I created a rectangle around the entire pin, re-saved the SVG and uploaded it to the app​, I was no longer able to select the individual elements inside the rectangle:

Please let us know if this information helps!

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That is very interesting and very helpful to know! Thank you very much for digging into this!

I’m glad to hear that the information helped! If you run into trouble again, or have other questions, please post a new topic here on the forum or email us at support@glowforge.com. We’ll be happy to help!