Create a new topic for your question in the appropriate forum. Do not add your question to an unrelated topic.

My apologies to any moderators who can correct me if should this be placed in the beginners questions? I'm very new to all of this and I do not know if my problems is really obvious noob stuff about how the inkscape (or basic) SVG works and can be manipulated or perhaps it's just specific to the glowforge that I am attempting to use with the inkscape exported svg. I have renamed the title to make it appear more suited to the "Using Inkscape with Cutters/Plotters" forum

Describe what you have found about the issue on these forums by using the search, and by searching the web.

nothing I have found Nothing about this, only people often wanted to do the reverse and get those outlines I am trying to avoid. I have found people who have the initial problem of the glowforge recognizing the text as such and then discarding it (I think this is what was being alluded to). I have found even less relevant things than this.

Describe the steps you took.

I typed text in inkscape using the text tool. I had problems until I converted that text to lines and then stroked to path. I exported this as an svg. I imported this svg into glowforge. I noticed what the glowforge was doing and then tried everything listed below and then came here.

Describe the result you expected.

i expected to import the paths into glowforge and have them be cut as they are visible. I expected the fill to be cut and the stroke to not be seen by the glowforge.

Describe the result that actually happened.

the glowforge will always ditch the 'fill' and keep the stroke, causing my text to change from simple lines that I want to cut as a path into outlines of every letter, causing the wood to be decimated and ugly.

Describe what you have already tried, attempting to resolve the issue.

having no stroke and only fill, making stroke extremely very thin and keeping fill, having fill and or stroke assigned to different colors, converting text to lines, stroke to path after text to lines, different fonts with all of the above

Describe your OS & version, the version of Inkscape and the installer you used.

Default installer, windows 10 pro, Inkscape 0.92.4 (5da689c313, 2019-01-14)

Bonus points, if you:

• Attach* a screenshot of the issue.                                       (see attached "Snip of Glowforge for Inkscape forums.JPG" it may be very unclear in this image but this is what I have)

• Attach* an example SVG file that has the issue.                   (see attached SVG) (error message on forum says there is not enough space to upload this, this is a 60kb file and I will try to attach this file in a reply to this message).

I am unable to upload the 60kb file in this attachment, I am receiving the same error (see attached 15kb file)

I am unable to upload the 15kb file, same error message (Problem uplaoding: Not enough space to upload this file.)

If I understand your problem correctly this is the explanation:

Normal fonts are defined by their outline. The fill is just a visual feature. Converting the text to paths will create a path from the outline and that is what your glowforge is seeing. Here is a longer explanation of this. 

I think what you are looking for is a single line font. I have tried to explain the available options for that in this blogpost.

thanks man, i think this is Exactly what is happening. Thanks for explaining this as well.

Is there way to eliminate the stroke, keep the fill and convert fill to path (but not outlines of that fill)?

No - there is no way for that. The fill is nothing without the outline defining it....That would be like ordering a coffee without the cup...

You can remove the stroke visually, but that just mean that it is invisible. It path is still there - if not there is nothing to fill either.

Cool I thought at much, thanks again. If I figure out a good simple way to apply this to fonts or something from the links (after I explore them and try to understand them a few times xD) I'll put that in this thread for the next guy

oh yeah, I did what you said and it looks good. There's nothing else to link or explain. Just go there and install the EggBot software. Then go to extensions , then EggBot,  Hershey Text. For me it just converted all my text stuff into the Hershey font. Really easy and really effective. I have not cut with it yet but it appears to be functional.

I'm glad to hear that it worked for you 😊

The first link I sent was to explain the nature of outline fonts, but it looks like I have confused you more than necessary with that quite old post that also link to the Eggbot software. The Hershey Text tool v3 is already included in Inkscape v1 or higher from Extensions > Text > Hershey Text and it is even better. I explain how to use that in this blogpost and the full description of that version can be found here.

oohh cool thanks!

the old version really butchered the hell out of some of the text, I had to do a lot of clipping and making single words and moving things in place next to each other so it kind of looks like one single block of text but it's little blocks and some single words

I'll check that out asap.... but I got to sleep.

The laser really does what I thought it would with this, this is really great so far! I feel so good about the appreciation plaque I'm making and being able to put so many people's kind words on there and also have it actually look good.

Final Post barring finished pics (I hope)

It looks really good guys, I thank you all for your help. Everything seems done, I will laser a test print of the entire appreciation plaque in a day or two. If all goes well I'll do the real one just after and then finish it with Tung oil. Thanks again for all your help with this part of that, the text is beautifully crisp instead of a nearly illegible mass of charred wood: )

Thanks guys, it was really exciting learning all this stuff that was just exactly what I needed to know. If anyone comes to the maker space that needs to know inkscape stuff I'll either tell them if I know it or I'll encourage them to come here and post. It's young people who really benefit from learning to ask questions and that they will get answers and help.  I will make SURE then understand the importance of following the posting guidelines and pieces of information : )

Thanks

Definitely still having problem with the text, I convert normal text to hershey one stroke and it get repositioned so much that some words overlap other words and both words become illegible (from a single text block). Sometimes it looks fine on the image but when lasered the line spacing gets all messed up (like a kids handwriting where it wanders up and down from line to line)  Still trying to figure it out

Maybe you could share some pictures of how the text look before and after the conversion.

Lately I have used the corresponding TTF-stickfont (a single line SVG-font converted to a TTF-font by doubling the and reversing each path so that, if used directly converting text to path, would result in each letter would be engraved or drawn twice, If converted to the corresponding single line SVG font with the Hershey text tool it will look exactly the same, but be a true single line. My experience, at least, is that this always look the same before and after conversion.