CRICUT: What's new in Design Space 2 - Part 5 - Uploading SVG's

Whilst the main focus of the 2.0 update is to address the speed, reliability and performance of Design Space, there has been one feature added that should make everyone who uses SVG files very happy!

Currently SVG's don't import into Design Space at the size they were designed. Not only that, each piece of the design comes in at the incorrect size. Eg. the image below is from the Luxury Handbags svg from SVG Cuts.com. Currently when I upload all the layers for the file they import at 2.4" in height. I then have to refer to the PDF that comes with the handbag kit and adjust the size of each piece individually so they cut at the correct size.

Well, in many cases that is about to change!

Depending on how the SVG has been designed (or which program it has been designed in) some files are now being imported into Design Space at their correct size and in proportion to each other.  This is certainly true for the files from SVG Cuts.com.

Using the same kit as above here is how the layers appear when I import them.

All the layers are their current size and in proportion to each other! No need to resize anything. Just import, choose your paper and cut!

Not all SVG's are created equal though! I have tested files from 12 different svg sellers. Most worked (or were very close) but four didn't.

Admittedly, I only tried one or two files from each seller. The ones that did import correctly were:

Birds Cards
DigiPlayground
Lori Whitlock
Miss Kate Cuttables
Omar's Awesome SVG's
SVG Cuts
Treasure Box Designs
Willowdown Lane

The ones that didn't work for me were:

Cre8ive Cutz
Jessica Weible Designs
MyScrapChick
SVG Attic

I'll be trying these (and more) again once the update is live!

Happy crafting!  �

This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.

Using the link is totally optional! If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to the website and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from the website. O

Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. It also goes towards the cost of giveaways and postage at Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Space Facebook group. 

I have affiliates with Cricut.com, MightyDeals and InLinkz �

CRICUT: Importing a JPG image into Design Space

Here's a quick tutorial on importing a JPG file into Design Space.

1. Log into your Design space account and at a new canvas click the Upload Image button

2. Click anywhere on the Basic Upload box

3. Click the Continue to Step 3 button

4. Click on the Browse button

5. Locate the file on your computer, select it and click Open

6. The image will appear in the preview screen. Click on one of the upload options then click the Continue to Step 2 button.

(This image is a very clean one with just one colour so the Simple Image upload works perfectly.)

7. Next you need to remove the white background from the image. Click on the Magic Wand tool then click on all of the white areas around the image. Make sure you also click inside each of the letters such as a, e, g to remove the background from there too.

Once you've done that your image will look like this.

This image is a screen shot from another program (possibly Silhouette Studio) and it has the dimension info around it. We need to remove that at well.

8. Click on the Eraser tool, left click on the screen and drag your mouse over the lines to erase them. You can change the size of the eraser if necessary.

When that's done the image looks like this.

9. Click the Continue to Step 3 button.

If you see any stray lines or marks on your image you can click the Back button to return to the previous screen.

10. Click in the check box marked 'Preserve original image within shape. Recommended for printing' to uncheck it.

You should only leave that box checked if you are going to be using Print then Cut with this image. If you're only going to be cutting this image unchecking that box automatically sets all the layers to Cut layers. 

11. When that box is unchecked the preview will look like this.

(You can still use the Back button to return to the previous screen if your image doesn't look just right...)

When you're happy with the design click the Save Image button

 The image appears in the list of Uploaded images. 


12. Click on your image to select it then click the Insert Images button.

The image appears on your mat ready for you to resize and cut!

Note... if there is a PNG version of your image available, you should use that instead. PNG's already have a transparent background which means you don't have to go to the trouble of removing it. O




Happy crafting!  �





This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.

Using the link is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)

Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 

I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �

CRICUT: Design Space - Importing a SVG file

Having trouble importing SVG files into Design Space? Hopefully this will help.

Most SVG files import easily into Design Space. However files from MyScrapChick currently import with black blobs around them. There's extra work that needs to be done in Inkscape to cut those files successfully. I'm not aware if/when that problem is going to be fixed, but I do know the owner of MyScrapChick is aware of the problem.


On to the tutorial!! Here's the process from purchase to being ready to cut.

I'm using the awesome Easter file from SVG Cuts.


1. From the SVG Cuts website, click on the image for the file you want to purchase.

  

2. Click on Add to Bag

3. Click the Checkout button

4. Sign up if you don't have an account. Or complete your login details and press Log In if you do have an account.

5. Select how you want to Pay and complete the details.

I'm using PayPal so I click on the Paypal button at the bottom of the screen.

6. Confirm your billing address etc and click the Place Order button.

7. Complete your payment

8. When your payment is complete click the Download button. 

9. Select the location on your computer to where you want to save the files and click Save.

10. Once the file has been downloaded navigate to that location on your computer.

11. You'll notice that the file has downloaded as a compressed (zipped) file. You will need to unzip that file before it can be used.

You can either right click on the file and select Extract All from the menu...

Or... you can click on the File name then click on Extract All from the toolbar.

12. Select where you want the unzipped files to be saved. I generally save them to the same directory the zipped file is saved. Press the Extract button to unzip the files.

13. Now you'll see a new directory that will contain the unzipped files. Click on that directory.

14. For this file you'll see 3 items.

• A directory that contains all the SVG files
• A PDF which contains pictures and sizes for all the pieces
• A jpg file. This file won't be imported into Design Space as it is merely a photo of the finished pieces in this collection.

15. Click on the SVG files directory

16. You'll see a directory for each of the pieces in the collection. I'll be working with the Bunny so I click on the Bunny directory.

You'll then see all the SVG files that make up the bunny.

You'll also see a PNG file. You won't be cutting this file. This image gives you an idea of what the end product should look like.

The five files that make up the bunny are highlighted below.

Now you need to get those files into Design Space.


17. Log in to Design Space and click the Create New Project button

18. Click the Upload Image button

19. Click the Vector Upload button

(The Basic Upload is only for importing .jpg, .gif, .png or .bmp files.)

20. Click the Browse button and locate the directory that contains the Bunny files and navigate to the directory that contains the SVG files.

 

21. Click on the first file to be imported - the belly panel. Depending on how you have Windows set up you may have to click Open after you have selected the file.

The file will be uploaded to Design Space and will appear in the Uploaded Images gallery.

22. Click the Vector Upload button again to upload the next piece of the bunny.

23. Repeat the steps until all pieces of the bunny have been uploaded.

When you're finished you'll see all five files in the Uploaded Images gallery.

24. Click on each piece to select it (a green tick will appear) then click the Insert Images button.

This is how the images will import... all on top of each other.

25. Click each piece in turn and move them around the mat.

You'll notice that each set of pieces appears in the Layers box.

The next thing you're going to do is re-size the pieces back to their original size. (Unlike other die cutting software programs eg. Silhouette Studio - the images currently don't import at their correct size. I hope this will be fixed in a future update.)

Luckily SVG cuts supplies the correct sizes for each piece.

26. Go back to where your files are saved and open up the Bunny Hop Menu PDF.

Each piece will have the size you need to set in the width property in Design Space

27. Select the piece you want to resize then open the Edit properties box.

28. Change the size in the Width box. In this case I'm resizing the bow tie so I need to change it from 5.49 to 5.00. Make sure you don't click on the little lock symbol. Your image won't stay in proportion if you click that.

29. Resize each of the sets of pieces using the PDF as a guide.

30. Next you need to fix the score lines.  Currently all the score lines will be set to Cut lines.

You'll notice that any piece that has score lines will have several layers in the Layers box. Select the layer that has the score lines and click on the scissor icon beside it.

The Line type box will pop up with the Cut icon selected.

31. Click on the Score icon to change that layer to Score.

Some of the pieces will have an additional layer. In the image below you can see that some of the pieces are numbered. These numbers will also cut. 

Finally, before you can cut your image you will have to attach the score lines to the main images.

32. Drag a selection box around a set of images. (I've changed the cut layer to pink so you can see the score lines.)

33. Right click and select Attach from the menu. (You'll also find the Attach feature at the top of the Layers properties box.

Finally.... you're ready to cut!

Feel free to let me know if you're still having trouble.