What is the largest Inkscape SVG the GFUI can accept?

I’m not suggesting file size is an issue. Files I have around 20MB that printed just fine in the past are now throwing the same error when I try to upload them.

So I tried some smaller, yet more complex (node count) ones and they are not generating errors.

I can speculate that GF has decided to limit processing on their servers for non-Premium members. Reduce the complexity/node count on your file and see what happens.

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I’m apparently equally mixed up! :slight_smile:

@swmisher you might benefit from rasterizing your artwork, see 3 posts up.

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I am a premium member. How would I go about reducing the node count? Splitting the SVG in half or something? I was hoping to avoid this as it is a model cutout and the lines are not grouped. I don’t want to mess with the current arrangement. However, if nothing else works…

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If you’re using Inkscape, try the Simplify feature:

Often if you artwork came from an image trace or some other source, it may have way more nodes than is actually necessary to accurately represent your shapes.

Simplifying it can often imperceptibly change the visual image but dramatically reduce the nodes.

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Attached is the link to the model I bought. Simplifying it probably won’t do much. I can’t attach the files but it should give you an idea of what I am trying a do.https://www.etsy.com/listing/1086009526/9pcs-3d-puzzle-toy-car-and-truck-laser?ref=yr_purchases

Doesn’t simplify in Inkscape take away alot of the detail?

Its all straight lines. My main issue is there are so many as well as bends and no objects are grouped. For example, a square would be 4 lines in this one. So splitting it would be tedious and time consuming. But I have been told that the GFUI should be able to handle files bigger than 12MB. So not sure what my problem really is.

Barring it being issues from servers taking on extra loads today because AWS went offline - :glowforge: does update the processing styles (for lack of a better word) every once in a while to make the majority of things run better. When that happens sometimes files that worked previously will now throw errors because they’ve removed a stop-gap.

What :glowforge: doesn’t do is limit how things work for Print users over Premium users - other than the fact that they’re literally operating on different servers.

Since we cannot open that file for you - can you take a quick screenshot of it zoomed in while the nodes are selected. We should be able to give you a better idea of whether it looks like the file is badly made (which happens a lot) or if it might be a size issue. Or you can send the file to support@glowforge.com and let them know you’re having the issue - and they can do the review on the back-end with no possibility of someone making a file they didn’t purchase.

Example - this printed, but it was an ugly file
Total nodes can be seen at the bottom after you’ve selected them all (a big box around them will auto-select them all)

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If you have a “join” function, like in Illustrator, it would actually help quite a lot - you have approximately double the nodes necessary.

In your disconnected square example - 4 lines have 2 nodes/anchors each, total 8, while a proper square would only have 4.

Not necessarily - for straight line artwork generally not at all. For curvy line artwork it depends on how heavily you apply the simplifying (in AI there’s a slider for amount, Inkscape must also?)

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Quick method that sometimes works…select about half of the stroke lines (doesn’t have to be exact) and change them to a different color, to break them out into a separate cutting group.

Then cut one group at a time.

In Inkscape, there are a couple of possibilities. You could try each and undo it if you don’t like the result. Union is good for some cases, combine, and intersection for others. Path effects can get quite complicated but has more control. You could also work only on copies of what you are working on and get more complex (like union minus intersection, or exclusion.)

holy crap! That’s an intense design. :rofl:

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It made an fabulous sticker, but I never managed to laser it!

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Those are all boolean operations for shapes. The AI join tool connects line segment end points - is there something like that?

@leith.sarkinen another easy AI tool to help with the disconnected lines from DXFs/CAD is the Live Paint bucket. If that interests you I’ll be happy to provide details.

In node editing there are many ways to join from just closing open lines, to breaking a line at a node, or removing the line between two nodes. I often find myself removing the lines between 4 points and then adding the lines to the four points in the other direction making two shapes one or one shape two.

The simplify command is easy but way overdoes it, but at the other extreme I have frequently just selected all the excess nodes I can reach in a shape and just deleted them. Much more work but the ultimate control. Of course all the details of nodes being an angle or curved or just a straight line between two otherwise curved nodes, and plenty more I rarely use.

Zoomed out all the way, they frequently look like that, but zoomed in are not so bad.

That is one I would definitely use Gimp to vectorize, rather than Inkscape. Inkscape will try to vectorize each jaggy while Gimp knows the difference between the corner of a jaggy and a real turn .

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@rbtdanforth

My name is Mercedes and I’m part of the Technical team here at Glowforge.

Could you send me the file you are working with so I can take a look?

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Hi Mercedes! I think it is @leith.sarkinen who is the OP on this. I laid out the technique I use in gimp here…

Ah, I think we’re just slightly misunderstanding each other. I’m aware Inkscape can do several common detail level editing things. The join command in AI is much simpler. As relates to OP’s example design - one could select the whole thing, hit ctrl/cmd+J and about 95% of the unconnected lines would be put together correctly.

Sorry I haven’t responded of late. I might have found my issue. My file has over 750,000 nodes. I don’t think I can get around having to manual separate it repeatedly.

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