Photo & Graphics 2013: Export to SVG locks process and never completes

[eldo]

I'm using P&G 2013 to generate SVG floorplans for some data visualization on one of our servers, and I've used the product in the past with no issues at all.

However, I have a file that I cannot export to SVG. I have narrowed down the issue to one layer, which is composed entirely of about 1600 simple rectangles with dashed lines. I have also tried using a standard solid line for the shapes, with no luck.

When the export process starts, the program becomes unresponsive, and the status dialog shows it very slowly prepairing to export. When it switches to exporting the document, the counter never moves past 0%.
After an hour or two of not showing any progress, windows auto forces the program to close. Before the program is killed, task manager shows P&G using 100% of one core, and the memory usage increases up until the auto kill.

To try to determine if it was some layer properties causing the issue, I moved a small subset (maybe 15 - 20%) of the rectangles to a new .xar file and tried to export, with the same behavior.

I have attached the layer, along with a background color as the attached MOR.xar file to this post.

If anyone can assist, or point me in the correct direction to look for a solution to this issue, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks for any help,
Eldo

[wizard509]

I tried this several times. Took a long time converting but didn't even start saving the file. So tried something simpler and that worked. So went back to your file and same problem as before. Seems like ther is something wrong with your document, because it acts goofy. How did you make it? I even tried deleting some of the objects to see if that worked but it didn't. Tried draging a rectangle so I could intersect some of the shapes but that was weird so my conclusion is whatever you did has bad consequences

[eldo]

I tried this several times. Took a long time converting but didn't even start saving the file. So tried something simpler and that worked. So went back to your file and same problem as before. Seems like ther is something wrong with your document, because it acts goofy. How did you make it? I even tried deleting some of the objects to see if that worked but it didn't. Tried draging a rectangle so I could intersect some of the shapes but that was weird so my conclusion is whatever you did has bad consequences

Wizard,

What you're describing sounds exactly like my situation.

To make it, I did the following:
Create a bottom layer with the scanned image of the floorplan I want to create.
Create a top layer to trace on. I used the builtin rectangle tool to draw one rectangle with the properties I wanted, then I copy/paste/resize as needed to complete the drawing.

I was able to manage a work around.

I can export EMF, open that in Visio, then save as SVG successfully.
I very much dislike this workflow, but at least it got the job done.

I don't know if it's of any help, but here's the successfully exported EMF (renamed emf.svg for the uploader) and then converted (visio) SVG.

[wizard509]

I have tried this several times, your file does not export as a SVG. So I made something simpler and that worked, so back to your file and it did not. So I rebuilt a small portion of your file and that exported great, opened it with Inkscape and it was there. For some reason that escapes me at the moment I could not view it in IE. So my conclusion is however you built your file had some serious errors. I tried creating a rectangle to put over part and intersect shapes and that was weird, and did not work. So I deleted some of the shapes and finally the rectangle showed with part of your image on it but that would not export either. How dis you create that document anyway? I tried for you but so far haven't found the problem.

[eldo]

I have tried this several times, your file does not export as a SVG. So I made something simpler and that worked, so back to your file and it did not. So I rebuilt a small portion of your file and that exported great, opened it with Inkscape and it was there. For some reason that escapes me at the moment I could not view it in IE. So my conclusion is however you built your file had some serious errors. I tried creating a rectangle to put over part and intersect shapes and that was weird, and did not work. So I deleted some of the shapes and finally the rectangle showed with part of your image on it but that would not export either. How dis you create that document anyway? I tried for you but so far haven't found the problem.

I'll try deleting the layer (everything exports fine if that layer isn't visible), and rebuilding it again, exporting along the way to see if I run into whatever issue is happening.

That layer was simply rectangles over a lower layer's imported JPG.
I did a bunch of copy/paste operations as well as manually moving some of the points (instead of just selecting the object and resizing with the handles)

Thank you very much for your help Wizard.

For the moment, the end result is acceptable, but I will attempt to rebuild it so I can export once and be done in the future.

In the mean time, I tried another workaround and actually have the full export to SVG working properly.
I exported the layer to EMF, then imported the EMF and inserted onto my page in a new layer.
Looking at the layer/page window, it shows that they are now shapes instead of rectangles.

I'm going to look and see if I can see anything in the xar file (is it a binary, or xml based?) and see if there's anything goofy defined in the original layer that was stripped during the export/import process.

In a previous version of Xara I was using, there was an area, I think, where you could actually see the object's definition through a tree/xml view.
Am I correct in this, and if so, would you know how to access it (I forget the term and name for it)?

I've attached the xar with both the working and broken layers, if you're interested as well.

[richinri]

I believe some versions of IE do not display SVG.

[wizard509]

Eldo, I don't know about the tree you mentioned. Glad you got something acceptable for the moment at least. Did you try looking at the different layers? You can do that by clicking the arrow head to the left of the layer. I must confess I had not done that or even thought of it till just now,