Any way to avoid importing SVG as embedded files when dropping in a document?

[albertkinng]

Maybe I'm missing something here. Every time I drop an SVG file to a Designer project, it is automatically turned into an embedded file instead of the same SVG file I'm dropping. Is there a setting to avoid this? Sometimes I just need the SVG file in my project as it is.

[walt.farrell]

An SVG file can't really be "in" your project except as something either Embedded or Linked.

If you're meaning that you need all its data in your project, then you could Open the SVG via File > Open, then select all the layers in the Layers panel, Copy, and Paste into your other document.

[mliving]

Until recently I have always been able to PLACE a SVG file into a Designer document then double click the SVG to open the embedded asset then select ALL and copy and paste the SVG back into the original document.

However today when I tried placing a SVG into a new document and double clicking nothing happens.

SOLUTION:  If you create a WEB document you will be able to PLACE a SVG file then double click it to open it in a separate window as an <EMBEDDED>  item. While in the EMBEDDED document you can SELECT ALL and COPY then PASTE it back into the original document and be able to edit the SVG freely.

[walt.farrell]

22 minutes ago, mliving said:

SOLUTION:  If you create a WEB document you will be able to PLACE a SVG file then double click it to open it in a separate window as an <EMBEDDED>  item. While in the EMBEDDED document you can SELECT ALL and COPY then PASTE it back into the original document and be able to edit the SVG freely.

Not sure what you mean by a web document. 

But if the double-clicking wasn't working for you today, perhaps you were Linking the SVG files rather than Embedding them? 

[mliving]

I have not found a way to automatically EMBED a SVG in a Designer document. No matter what I do SVG files are always EMBEDDED in my Designer documents.

Here's what a I mean by WEB document. CREATE a new  WEB document  from the New Document dialog.

[walt.farrell]

6 minutes ago, mliving said:

Here's what a I mean by WEB document. CREATE a new  WEB document  from the New Document dialog.

Thanks. The significant item there is "Image placement: Prefer Embedded". You can set that for any kind of document, and perhaps you have "Prefer Linked" in the other documents you were using.

[mliving]

Thanks for clarifying!

 

[albertkinng]

5 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Open, then select all the layers in the Layers panel, Copy, and Paste into your other document.

That’s how I’ve been doing it all the time. It’s annoying. I was hoping for a setting or a shift-drag feature to drop the svg as a vector inside your document. 
 

Maybe will be a feature on the next update. Cross my fingers. All other vector editing software are able to import an svg as a vector file when dragging and dropping. Crossing my fingers.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, albertkinng said:

I was hoping for a setting or a shift-drag feature to drop the svg as a vector inside your document. 

Keep in mind that an SVG file is a container that can include a wide range of objects besides a single vector object, including among others images (bitmaps), so to drop one into a document as a single vector layer would require some very complex on-the-fly conversions to (among other things) trace any bitmaps, & combine everything into a single flattened layer.

Probably will never happen in the Affinity apps.

[albertkinng]

8 hours ago, R C-R said:

would require some very complex on-the-fly conversions

Vectornator and Vectorstyler do that instantly. One if them is a free app developed by one person. Affinity is a team. What are you trying to say here?

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, albertkinng said:

Vectornator and Vectorstyler do that instantly. One if them is a free app developed by one person. Affinity is a team. What are you trying to say here?

Have you tried dropping an SVG file that includes multiple images, vectors, animation features, & so on into either one? Do you get a single vector object in either one when you do?

[albertkinng]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

dropping an SVG file that includes multiple images, vectors, animation features, & so on

Don't get over creative here; you know exactly what this topic is about. This is not about dropping animations, or anything you want to mention just to back up your unjustifiable comment about the lack of importing a basic SVG as vector file on a project. I will be more precise, so you can't pretend to not understand the need here: A plain line art logo in SVG format can't be dropped on a Affinity Designer  without being embedded. Other vectors apps such as the ones mentioned above had the ability to do it. I know you are a very hard-core Affinity advocate in this forum, but you need to be realistic and accept the deficiencies of the app as well. I love Affinity apps as they are my main design tools in my daily job, but it's kind of annoying double-clicking an SVG to get the vector in your project every time. Sometimes I need to make a poster of 200 icons. That's not fun at all.

[R C-R]

18 minutes ago, albertkinng said:

This is not about dropping animations, or anything you want to mention just to back up your unjustifiable comment about the lack of importing a basic SVG as vector file on a project.

I think it is just that the developers are not willing to implement something that will only work with the simplest, most basic single-vector SVG files.

It's probably the same reason they don't implement something similar for other container type formats like PDF.

[v_kyr]

On 12/5/2022 at 9:39 PM, albertkinng said:

Maybe I'm missing something here. Every time I drop an SVG file to a Designer project, it is automatically turned into an embedded file instead of the same SVG file I'm dropping. Is there a setting to avoid this? Sometimes I just need the SVG file in my project as it is.

Well dropping an SVG file into ADe is always like “placing” it and results to an embedded parsed/interpreted SVG file. Opening a SVG file instead via “File open…” will parse and interpret the SVG contents as an own doc. - All as far as the Affinity SVG parser can handle (interpret) the SVG subset contents correctly at all.

Layer structure & handling depends on the SVG file syntax structure & commands, and so if a SVG vector drawing is defined by multiple/several separate vector objects (lines, rects, circles, points …) or as one combined (all in all) poly object.

 

[albertkinng]

On 12/6/2022 at 1:03 PM, R C-R said:

the developers are not willing to implement something that will only work with the simplest, most basic single-vector SVG files

Is a vector designer program for professionals. Implementing for the simplest needs is basically what they need to achieve. When I develop a phone app I don't skip the simplest implementations based on my judgement. I need to cover all areas of the interface so many people can interact without issues. You won't believe how many people these days still think that they can't use a credit card with a PayPal link, I mean literally they don't buy it if they don't have a PayPal account. The reality is that you don't need a PayPal account to use that link and pay for your product. But the majority of users don't know it. My job as a developer is that a costumer is able to pay without a problem. The same goes with developing a professional graphic design app. This is common sense.

[R C-R]

5 minutes ago, albertkinng said:

Is a vector designer program for professionals. Implementing for the simplest needs is basically what they need to achieve.

I believe the need is to implement something that works in all cases a pro could be expected to encounter, not just the simplest ones.

I think we will just need to agree to disagree about that.

[albertkinng]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

I think we will just need to agree to disagree about that.

I don't think you understand what we're talking about here. I'm not even in disagreement with you. Just clarifying the way a developer thinks when designing a tool. It's OK if you can't visualize the point in question. It's not a requirement. Have fun!

[albertkinng]

1 hour ago, N.P.M. said:

So you just need to insert just a plain vector svg on the canvas?

No. There's no way. See video:

https://d.pr/v/XnieFq

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, albertkinng said:

See video:

For security reasons many of us will not click on links that that. Note that you can attach a video directly to your posts to avoid that.

[albertkinng]

3 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

see video

Whoa! That’s awesome! Genius!!! Thanks

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, albertkinng said:

Whoa! That’s awesome! Genius!!! Thanks

Maybe you missed it because it was a somewhat cryptic reference but @N.P.M. suggested using the Assets panel earlier in this topic. 

[albertkinng]

20 hours ago, R C-R said:

many of us will not click on links

Video is not for you. It's ok.

 

15 hours ago, R C-R said:

Maybe You missed it.

No. You're wrong. He was very straightforward. I appreciate his help and the video he recorded. He found a way to achieve this need even though the app can't let you do it by default.  Again, he is a genius. You should worry more on helping instead of defending Affinity blindly. 

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, albertkinng said:

No. You're wrong. He was very straightforward.

What I meant was this method was suggested by @N.P.M. last Tuesday in the post I linked to that simply said "Assetspanel." It was a bit cryptic but using the Assets panel for things like this is a well known & often suggested technique in these forums, not just for SVG files but for other types of files as well.