thank you but I have to wait for them to send me a new glowforge before I can do anything cuz the one that I got in did not work but if you have any thing else you can send to me to help me learn that would be great I really appreciate it
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He also helped make the “Italics” setting possible. He is modest about his contributions, but he did a lot to help and was very involved! I was about to give up on the italics, until he found an easy way to implement it!
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A wonderful addition to the GF toolkit. Thanks so much for making it available to everyone!
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Hi, and welcome!
If you are new to laser cutting, you can learn a lot by reading about the projects people post in the Made on a Glowforge category. People share pictures and design techniques there, and it will give you a good idea of what you’ll be able to do once you learn how to use your machine.
Next, you could browse the Free Laser Designs category to find some nice starter projects. This is where people share files that anyone can download and use to build some really neat objects. This also will give you an idea of how to design flat parts that can be assembled into real, useful, or even whimsical objects.
If you run out of interesting topics to read in those two areas, you’ll find some good ideas for how to go further with your designs in the Glowforge Tips and Tricks section, which is where you found this discussion.
Of course, the other areas of the forum are loaded with great information, but these are three areas you could start with for inspiration.
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Thanks so much I will definitely look over and read them thank you
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I have been asked, “Why use this? Get Inkscape and use Hershey Text.”
This was not intended to replace other vector text generators (like Inkscape’s Hershey Text). It was only intended to be easier and quicker to use.
Here is a comparison between a Text2Vector (left/top) SVG and one generated by Inkskape (right/bottom):
If you want something prettier, or more refined, you will probably prefer Hershey Text. But, here are some differences between these two generated SVGs:
-
Size
- Hershey Text: 9,596 bytes (9.37 KB)
- Text2Vector: 1,819 bytes (1.77 KB)
-
SVG objects (complexity)
- Hershey Text: 29 paths (6 groups)
- Text2Vector: 4 paths (0 groups)
-
Load Time
- Hershey Text: For me, Inkscape loads fairly fast (a couple seconds), but then I have to find text setting and remember how to convert it.
- Text2Vector: Instantly loads in a browser and you are ready to type.
I am not saying that I will never use Hershey Text ever again. But, if I am just labeling something and I am trying to avoid creating something that is “too complex” to print. I will continue using this simple HTML tool.
Edit: It has been five months now. I have never again used Hershey Text, and at this point I see no reason to ever go back to it.
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I have added a new version! Thanks to the updates made by @bwente!
The styling of the tool has been enhanced using the Bootstrap CSS library. And a new button was added to “Download SVG”!
(I should probably remove the instructions to “Right-click to Save As…” now.)
Thanks to all the community for the suggestions and updates! That is what makes this community so great!
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Thank you for sharing. Was just dealing with text this week and struggling a little with limitations of other tools. This is a really nice utility.
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I’ve made a similar tool… Maybe we should join forces?
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Hey, that looks sweet! I like the upload feature. This looks pretty full featured.
Nice work. Are you actively developing new features?
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Would you look at all those fonts! Thanks!
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Sure, I am developing new features and anybody can make a feature request through Github issues.
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Your output looks just as complicated and bloated as Hershey Text from Inkscape.
I do like that you have the different fonts, but how is this different than using Inkscape? (Other than the load times.)
Do you have an option for a less complicate font and bezier-curves?
Edit: Reviewing the network transmission, it looks like your app could use a font that uses bezier-curves. It just looks like you don’t have any fonts that do it. I might see if I can generate a font file that works with your app.
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Thanks for sharing this too. I am sure it will be very helpful to lots of people here.
When I first started this project for myself, it was just to make something less complicated. I was trying to keep the complexity and size of the final product low.
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Yeah, my tool is not much different than Hershey Text in Inkscape, it’s just more convenient (can be used on tablet) and has a few more options.
It supports SVG fonts so bezier curves are not a problem, just the glyphs have to be in certain format within the SVG font.
There is also this interesting project that allows creating of SVG fonts: https://github.com/inconvergent/gridfont
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Do SVG fonts support kerning (adjustments between certain combinations of characters)?
I didn’t see a place for that type of data in the source file for the SVG fonts.
Do you have a link to use to submit feature requests? I could not find the project on GitHub.
Please let me know if anyone has any issues with this tool, or if you have any suggestions! Thanks!
Looks like I could also allow for different fonts if that is of interest? I would want to slightly modify them to bezier curves (of course) to simplify the nodes. So if that is a desired feature, please let me know which public font you are interested in!
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Not to pressure you or anything, but I’d love to see what you could do to optimize a few more fonts.
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Do you have a font in mind? Or should I just grab one? I might start with the default “Hershey Text” font. (Would call the new version “T2V Hershey Text”.)
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