Replace Colour Doesn't Preserve on Export to SVG

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
User avatar

2020-05-29 03:21:00

I'm going crazy.

I have an SVG file of a very simple logo on which I'm attempting to do a very quick replace colour on items in two of the paths (from white to black). Super simple, right? I export to JPG, PNG, no problem. Export to SVG, and the items are still white. Image

Also, please note I don't *really* understand this whole vector graphics thing so if it seems obvious I should understand why this doesn't work, it's absolutely not obvious to me.
User avatar

2020-05-29 03:47:12

Alright, guess what I stumbled upon? Flatten Adjustments. Who knew that adjustments were like layers? You people, very likely, not me. Sorry for taking up forum space (can't delete the post, so I'm owning this idiocy until the internet breaks).
User avatar

2020-05-29 14:57:19

Keely, you've stumbled upon quite an interesting issue! The Color Adjustments are actually only for raster (i.e. photographic images). We made them work with text and shapes because well, why not, but for vector images (such as SVG) you should be using the Style tool or one of the shape tools. That way, you'll be adjusting the actual color of the shape directly rather than replacing one color with another, which is kind of a roundabout way of achieving the same thing. When you flatten the adjustments, we actually turn those shape (or text) layers into raster (image) layers, and although SVG does support this kind of content, it's not really where the format's usefulness lies. I'm not sure if I can really explain this concisely without getting into boring theory, so I'll make three main points:

1. SVG files are made up of vector shapes
2. Vector shapes should be edited using the Style tool (or any of the shape tools)
3. Color adjustments are generally used for photos and other pixel-based images

Hope that helps at least a little!
User avatar

2020-05-29 17:02:59

That's really helpful, actually. I think with my attempts to adjust colours I've somehow "broken" the svg file so it's not being accepted by my POD service, so perhaps this mysterious Style/shape tool will allow me to make the changes to the logo without breaking it. Will let you know how it goes (once I figure out how to use those tools!).
User avatar

2020-06-01 12:17:58

Yep, if the POD service is looking for the file to be vector-only, flattening those adjustments would have created some non-vector stuff and that's why they weren't accepted. Did you manage to edit those shapes successfully using the other tools?
User avatar

2020-06-02 03:03:10

Like a charm! Miles easier than replacing the colour of text, even. If only I had a basic grasp of vector files before embarking on this quest. Thanks for the help, @Andruis!
User avatar

2020-06-02 07:51:03

by Keely Dunn 2020-06-02 03:03:10 Like a charm! Miles easier than replacing the colour of text, even.
Really? Changing the color of text shouldn't be easier (or more difficult) than changing the color of shapes, so this has got me wondering about the steps you might be using for that. :sweat_smile:

Generally, you'd need to use the Type tool to edit text but I wonder whether that might not have worked for you because, like in the example image above, the letters are actually shapes. In that case, because the letters are really shapes, you'd need to use the Style tool. What's more, all the shapes are on separate layers and if you'd like to edit them together, you'd need to unite them into one shape. To select multiple layers in the Layers sidebar, you can click the first layer you'd like to select (for example, the u in umpires), then Shift-click the last layer (the s). After doing that, Control-click any of those layers and choose Unite Shapes. Then, you'll be able to quickly change the color of the entire word using the Style tool.
User avatar

2020-06-02 15:29:35

Actually, I was able to change the colour of all the shapes without uniting them. Just selected them all in their separate paths, boom. Couldn’t do that with Replace Colour, which didn’t show up as an adjustment on a particular path until I selected it to be shown. That was what was more finicky about the process.
User avatar

2020-06-03 14:18:38

Ah OK, yeah, that totally works too!