Inkscape

scanning in vector lines from lines

Asked by Larry Garman, Sr.

 Can I scan a line drawing and have a vector (line) to adjust? They now come in as bitmap. So we can't refine and
have to trace them manually. The trace program gives another bitmap & can't be refined.

Thank you very much.

Larry Garman

PS. I am very thankful for this program, it is very powerful. You are doing a very fine service.

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Andrew P. (japoth) said : 		#1

The built-in trace program (potrace) produces vector data, not bitmaps. If you say Inkscape is producing bitmaps, do you mean a PostScript (PS) or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) export? If you're getting a bitmap in either of these files, it may mean that you embedded a bitmap in the Inkscape SVG file, or there is something peculiar about the Inkscape file that the Cairo vector graphics library isn't able to handle during export, so it substitutes a "fallback" raster image in place of the desired vector image.

If you're importing in bitmap graphics only for the purpose of tracing and making a vector equivalent, use the "link" option instead of the "embed" option, as it's all too easy to leave fragments of bitmap graphics in the SVG file, which will cause the results you describe.

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Best su_v (suv-lp) said : 		#2

> The trace program gives another bitmap & can't be refined.

'Path > Trace bitmap' creates a group of paths when using 'Multiple Scans' options (e.g. tracing by colors). To edit individual paths inside the group, either ungroup it first (menu 'Object > Ungroup'), or use one of the selection methods for working with groups (see link below).

Hint: if you select an object, the message in the status line will tell the object type, e.g.
- "Image 600x400, embedded in Layer 1" for an imported bitmap image, or
- "Group of 8 objects in Layer 1" for the result of tracing a bitmap with the 'Colors' option, or
- "Path (327 nodes) in Layer 1" after ungrouping the trace result and selecting a single path (traced color).

Related links:
<http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Trace.html>
<http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Groups.html>

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Larry Garman, Sr. (garman349) said : 		#3

Thank you very much for your reply. Believe it or not, did a lot of trial and error and came
up with something quite similar to your answer & it did work for me. Will try to copy your
answer for future reference.
Thank you again. You are really providing a very worthwhile service. So much appreciated
L.Garman