I created an Inkscape file, and I want to save it as .eps or .pdf, but when I close the .eps or .pdf file I get a warning "The file (name) was saved with a format that may cause data loss. Convert to file to .svg?" When I selected Ignore and close, neither the .eps file nor the .pdf file opens and I get the message "Failed to load the requested file (name).. Anybody know why? I spent a lot of time editing this .svg file!
Hhmm.... Just to be clear, you were able to save an EPS or PDF file, but it won't open. Right? I'm a little confused when you said you declined to save an SVG file, but then you said you spent a lot of time editing the SVG file. Maybe just a typo somewhere, but I'm still confused 😵
How are you trying to open the EPS or PDF? From your file manager? Or do you open Inkscape, and then use File menu > Open, or Open Recent ? Or something else?
I guess I would suggest to find it in your file manager, maybe even search your computer, in case it was accidentally saved to a different place than you thought. I have seen that happen with Open Recent, when I've moved the file to a new folder, after I saved it, and while it was still open.
I created the .svg file in Inkscape and then saved it (as a default .svg), then I saved it as a .eps. Once I did that, the file name is the upper corner had an extension of .eps. When I tried to close that file or exit Inkscape, the message that the file was corrupt appeared. I immediately tried to open the .eps file and another failure message appeared. I closed Inkscape and then re-tried to open the .eps file and got an error message that the file could not be opened. The same thing happened when I attempted to create a .pdf file. I have attached the .svg file. And no, I do know the file's location. I did not use Recent.
By the way, I really enjoy working in Inkscape; it is quite easy and very robust.
However, I did experience some other problems besides the save to .eps and save to pdf. The issues are that when after selecting multiple items then using the Align and Distribute's feature Align Left Edges, the Objects selected did not move into alignment. They didn't move at all. I quit the program then re-entered but Align Left edges still would not work. Additionally, some changes I made, such as moving one object a bit were not shown on the paper when printing the file. I remember that saving the file or quitting and reopening seemed to then show the changes when printing. It was frustrating because I was making incremental changes to an object's location or size but the printout was not changing at all. I don't know if this has anything to do with the save problems but I thought I'd mention it. I sure hope my file isn't corrupted because I spent tons of time to get it just right.
I just noticed an another small issue. apparently when you change text font size, the text visually changes on the screen, but those re-sizings do not appear on a printed page. I enlarged the object and only then would the re-size show up when printing. The .svg file I am working on is attached.
Just to clarify: when you get a popup about potential data loss after saving in some non-native format it's not a bug. It's a normal warning that is being considerate to you to warn you before closing the application, because at this point you can still save under the native format and keep ALL the data, but if you close the app and you haven't saved the changes into the native (Inkscape SVG) you may lose what you'd like to keep.
This is a rule for all apps, not just Inkscape: always save your work in the app native format. That is the only way to keep everything you've set up in your document. Not just the drawing, but the helper features like guides, grids etc.
Then when you need the same drawing in another format you export it into some other format (EPS or PDF). Those formats aren't intended to be edited BTW, they are end files to be sent to print. I think there was an Issue reported to change the Inkscape interface to only be able to save in SVG, and all the other options would be moved to Export. That might be less confusing to users.
When working on a drawing and wanting to export into another format, but keep working on the drawing in SVG, use the "Save a copy" option! SVG will be open and you'll be working on it, then you'll Save a copy as PDF, the PDF is created in the background on your file system but it isn't opened by Inkscape, only the original SVG is open. So you can keep working and saving your work.
I tried the PDF Save a copy and it's working fine, I'm attaching the file I got. EPS as well.
PDF export is using some external packages that convert SVG to those formats, so maybe you don't have them installed on your computer so Inkscape can't use them.
About the other issues you found: if you can reproduce some issue in the simplest case, or with a particular file that is stripped down to just the part that is causing trouble you should report it as a separate issue in the bug tracker so developers can solve it.
Search old bugs first because it may already be reported ;)
I created the .svg file in Inkscape and then saved it (as a default .svg), then I saved it as a .eps. Once I did that, the file name is the upper corner had an extension of .eps. When I tried to close that file or exit Inkscape, the message that the file was corrupt appeared.
Yes, like Mihaela indicated, that message does not say the file is corrupt. It says something could be lost in the conversion process, and offers to save an SVG, just in case. It's a courtesy message. Although I think it probably could be worded better. I think it sounds more serious that it usually is.
I immediately tried to open the .eps file and another failure message appeared.
So while the EPS file that you just made was still open, you tried to open it again? Or did you actually close it after declining to save the SVG? Were you trying to open it with Inkscape? Or with something else?
It could not have been the same message you had before. Because before, you were trying to close the file. Now you're trying to open a file, so it must have been a different message. If the newly saved EPS file was still open when you tried to open it again, that might be why you got an error. But if you had already closed it, please tell us exactly the error message you got.
There are a number of ways you can approach alignment and formatting of text. For aligning text to the left, I usually use a Guide line. If you put your mouse in a ruler, hold down the mouse button and bring the mouse onto the canvas, you will drag a Guide line right out of that ruler - horizontal or vertical. And if you start near a corner, you'll drag out a 45 degree angled guide! (The guide is not part of the drawing - it's just a helper feature.)
Then, have you noticed, when you have the text selected, the tiny square in the bottom-left corner of the text that you typed? That's the text anchor, and it will snap to the Guide. You could use a combination of horizontal and vertical guides and snap to the intersection of the guides. You can set the guides to specific values or locations on the page. Note that you need to have the right snapping options enabled, and the snap control bar is usually on the right side of the window.
For Align and Distribute dialog, the most important part is the first option at the top. It's a dropdown menu called "Relative to:" So you have to decide what you want to align the text TO. There are 6 or 8 options there.
For left alignment, another way to align text is just to use the Enter key (used to be called Return, back in the day of typewriters). Enter will start a new line of text. However, if you need the text to have different colors or styles, that would not work.
I probably can't help much with printing. When you change the text size, and then you print the page, are you printing what's on the screen? Or are you sending the file to the printer? If you send the file to the printer each time, you need to be sure and save your changes in Inkscape before you send it. But if you're just printing the screen, you should see the different size text.
Beginners' Questions Failed save to .eps and .pdf formats
Inkscape.org
I created an Inkscape file, and I want to save it as .eps or .pdf, but when I close the .eps or .pdf file I get a warning "The file (name) was saved with a format that may cause data loss. Convert to file to .svg?" When I selected Ignore and close, neither the .eps file nor the .pdf file opens and I get the message "Failed to load the requested file (name).. Anybody know why? I spent a lot of time editing this .svg file!
Welcome to the forum!
Hhmm.... Just to be clear, you were able to save an EPS or PDF file, but it won't open. Right? I'm a little confused when you said you declined to save an SVG file, but then you said you spent a lot of time editing the SVG file. Maybe just a typo somewhere, but I'm still confused 😵
How are you trying to open the EPS or PDF? From your file manager? Or do you open Inkscape, and then use File menu > Open, or Open Recent ? Or something else?
I guess I would suggest to find it in your file manager, maybe even search your computer, in case it was accidentally saved to a different place than you thought. I have seen that happen with Open Recent, when I've moved the file to a new folder, after I saved it, and while it was still open.
I created the .svg file in Inkscape and then saved it (as a default .svg), then I saved it as a .eps. Once I did that, the file name is the upper corner had an extension of .eps. When I tried to close that file or exit Inkscape, the message that the file was corrupt appeared. I immediately tried to open the .eps file and another failure message appeared. I closed Inkscape and then re-tried to open the .eps file and got an error message that the file could not be opened. The same thing happened when I attempted to create a .pdf file. I have attached the .svg file. And no, I do know the file's location. I did not use Recent.
By the way, I really enjoy working in Inkscape; it is quite easy and very robust.
However, I did experience some other problems besides the save to .eps and save to pdf. The issues are that when after selecting multiple items then using the Align and Distribute's feature Align Left Edges, the Objects selected did not move into alignment. They didn't move at all. I quit the program then re-entered but Align Left edges still would not work. Additionally, some changes I made, such as moving one object a bit were not shown on the paper when printing the file. I remember that saving the file or quitting and reopening seemed to then show the changes when printing. It was frustrating because I was making incremental changes to an object's location or size but the printout was not changing at all. I don't know if this has anything to do with the save problems but I thought I'd mention it. I sure hope my file isn't corrupted because I spent tons of time to get it just right.
I just noticed an another small issue. apparently when you change text font size, the text visually changes on the screen, but those re-sizings do not appear on a printed page. I enlarged the object and only then would the re-size show up when printing. The .svg file I am working on is attached.
Max
Just to clarify: when you get a popup about potential data loss after saving in some non-native format it's not a bug. It's a normal warning that is being considerate to you to warn you before closing the application, because at this point you can still save under the native format and keep ALL the data, but if you close the app and you haven't saved the changes into the native (Inkscape SVG) you may lose what you'd like to keep.
This is a rule for all apps, not just Inkscape: always save your work in the app native format. That is the only way to keep everything you've set up in your document. Not just the drawing, but the helper features like guides, grids etc.
Then when you need the same drawing in another format you export it into some other format (EPS or PDF). Those formats aren't intended to be edited BTW, they are end files to be sent to print. I think there was an Issue reported to change the Inkscape interface to only be able to save in SVG, and all the other options would be moved to Export. That might be less confusing to users.
When working on a drawing and wanting to export into another format, but keep working on the drawing in SVG, use the "Save a copy" option! SVG will be open and you'll be working on it, then you'll Save a copy as PDF, the PDF is created in the background on your file system but it isn't opened by Inkscape, only the original SVG is open. So you can keep working and saving your work.
I tried the PDF Save a copy and it's working fine, I'm attaching the file I got. EPS as well.
PDF export is using some external packages that convert SVG to those formats, so maybe you don't have them installed on your computer so Inkscape can't use them.
About the other issues you found: if you can reproduce some issue in the simplest case, or with a particular file that is stripped down to just the part that is causing trouble you should report it as a separate issue in the bug tracker so developers can solve it.
Search old bugs first because it may already be reported ;)
Yes, like Mihaela indicated, that message does not say the file is corrupt. It says something could be lost in the conversion process, and offers to save an SVG, just in case. It's a courtesy message. Although I think it probably could be worded better. I think it sounds more serious that it usually is.
So while the EPS file that you just made was still open, you tried to open it again? Or did you actually close it after declining to save the SVG? Were you trying to open it with Inkscape? Or with something else?
It could not have been the same message you had before. Because before, you were trying to close the file. Now you're trying to open a file, so it must have been a different message. If the newly saved EPS file was still open when you tried to open it again, that might be why you got an error. But if you had already closed it, please tell us exactly the error message you got.
There are a number of ways you can approach alignment and formatting of text. For aligning text to the left, I usually use a Guide line. If you put your mouse in a ruler, hold down the mouse button and bring the mouse onto the canvas, you will drag a Guide line right out of that ruler - horizontal or vertical. And if you start near a corner, you'll drag out a 45 degree angled guide! (The guide is not part of the drawing - it's just a helper feature.)
Then, have you noticed, when you have the text selected, the tiny square in the bottom-left corner of the text that you typed? That's the text anchor, and it will snap to the Guide. You could use a combination of horizontal and vertical guides and snap to the intersection of the guides. You can set the guides to specific values or locations on the page. Note that you need to have the right snapping options enabled, and the snap control bar is usually on the right side of the window.
Or instead of Guides, you could use a Grid, and do the same thing. From the manual about snapping: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Snapping.html
For Align and Distribute dialog, the most important part is the first option at the top. It's a dropdown menu called "Relative to:" So you have to decide what you want to align the text TO. There are 6 or 8 options there.
For left alignment, another way to align text is just to use the Enter key (used to be called Return, back in the day of typewriters). Enter will start a new line of text. However, if you need the text to have different colors or styles, that would not work.
I probably can't help much with printing. When you change the text size, and then you print the page, are you printing what's on the screen? Or are you sending the file to the printer? If you send the file to the printer each time, you need to be sure and save your changes in Inkscape before you send it. But if you're just printing the screen, you should see the different size text.