Importing and Exporting #

You do not have to draw everything in Carvio. You can bring in drawings from other programs, images to trace or carve, 3D models, clips from the clipart library and the drawing of another Carvio project, and you can send your vectors back out as SVG or DXF.

Importing files #

File > Import... (Ctrl+I) takes any file Carvio reads and handles it the right way for its type. Import Vectors..., Import Image... and Import 3D Model... in the File menu do the same for one kind of file only.

Imported objects go onto the active layer and are selected, ready to move or scale. Images and 3D models are read in the background; the status bar shows how far the import has got, and you can keep working meanwhile.

On Windows you can also drop files from the file manager onto the Carvio window to import them.

SVG and DXF #

SVG and DXF drawings come in as vectors at their real size, in millimetres. Each shape becomes one vector, named after its layer in the drawing.

• SVG: paths, rectangles, circles, ellipses, lines, polylines and polygons are read, with the transforms of their groups. Text in an SVG is not read; convert it to paths in the other program first.
• DXF: lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, polylines (light and old-style) and splines are read. The drawing's units ($INSUNITS) are used to scale it to millimetres.

The drawing keeps its own coordinates, so a part drawn at 0,0 lands at the job origin. If the drawing lies completely outside the material, Carvio moves it to the centre of the material instead.

Tip: DXF files often arrive as many separate lines. Select them all and use Join to link them into closed shapes before you pocket or carve them.

Images #

An image (a photo, a scan, a logo) comes in as a picture on the material. You can trace it into vectors, turn it into a 3D relief, or burn it with a laser.

The image is scaled to fit 80% of the material and placed at its centre. Move it and size it like a vector, with the mouse handles or the Scale form; it always stays upright.

What you can do with an image:

• Trace it into vectors with Trace Image (Vectors > Trace Image... or the Drawing tab).
• Make a 3D relief from its light and dark areas with From Image on the Modeling tab (Model > Component from Image...).
• Engrave it with a laser with the Laser Picture toolpath.
• Nest it: it takes up the space of its box.

Images are saved inside the project file, so the project still opens if the original picture is moved or deleted.

3D models #

STL and OBJ meshes become 3D components: Carvio samples the model's top surface into a relief that you can carve with the 3D toolpaths.

File > Import 3D Model... (or Import Model on the Modeling tab) opens a form where you choose the file, how wide it should be (Fit width; 0 makes it 80% of the material's shorter side) and its Z base, then click Import. When you use File > Import... or a paste instead, the model comes in with the values last used in that form.

A big STL takes a while to read; the status bar shows the progress.

Pasting from other programs #

Edit > Paste (Ctrl+V) takes what another program put on the clipboard: files copied in a file manager, an image, or a drawing. It is often the quickest way to bring something in.

Whatever you copied most recently wins: copying objects in Carvio replaces what another program put on the clipboard. Right-click in a view and choose Paste here to centre the pasted things on the point you clicked.

Merging projects #

Importing a .carvio file adds the other project's drawing to the one you have open: its vectors, images and the 3D components of its top side. Its toolpaths, job setup and tools are not brought across.

Objects keep their position in the job, and go onto layers of the same names (made if they do not exist yet). 3D components are resampled to this job's model resolution.

To open a project on its own instead, use File > Open....

Exporting vectors #

File > Export Vectors... (or Export in the Drawing tab) saves your vectors as an SVG or a DXF file for another program. Type a name ending in .svg or .dxf to choose the format.

• The export holds every vector in the job, including text (as its letter outlines). Images are left out.
• SVG files are the size of the material, with the vectors placed on it as in Carvio.
• DXF files use Carvio's coordinates, measured from the job origin.

To save a 3D component as a mesh, see Exporting components.

Exporting components #

File > Export Component... saves the selected 3D component as an STL or OBJ mesh for another program or a 3D printer. Type a name ending in .obj for OBJ; anything else is saved as STL.

The mesh is a closed solid: the component's surface on top, standing on a flat base at Z 0, in millimetres. With several components selected, they are merged into one mesh (the model itself is not changed). The command is greyed out while no component is selected; it is also in a component's right-click menu.

Very large components are sampled more coarsely so the mesh stays below about 600,000 triangles.

Saving a picture of the 3D view #

File > Save Image... saves a PNG picture of the 3D view as it is on screen: the material, the model, the toolpaths or the preview, without the panels or anything drawn over the view. Carvio switches to the 3D view first if needed, then asks for the file name.

Turn the camera and choose what the view shows (see What the views show) before you save. The same command is in the preview form.

The clipart library #

The clipart library holds ready-made designs you can drop into any job: vectors, images and 3D components. Browse and search it on the Clipart tab.

There are two parts to the library: the clipart that comes with Carvio, and your own library, where you can add, edit and delete clips. The Folders section shows the path of your own library.

Finding clipart #

Type in the Search Clipart box to find clips by name, description, tag or folder name across the whole library. Clear the box (or click the cross) to browse by folder again.

In the Folders section, click a folder to see its clips as thumbnails. Rest the pointer on a thumbnail to see its name and description, and click it to see its details below the thumbnails: its kind, size, description and tags.

Adding a clip to the job #

Drag a thumbnail onto the 2D or 3D view to place the clip where you drop it. You can also double-click a thumbnail, or click Add to job, to place it at the centre of the material.

A vectors clip comes in as a group (if it has several parts) on the active layer; a component clip comes in as a 3D component on the Modeling tab.

Saving your own clips #

Select some vectors or 3D components and choose File > Export Selection as Clipart... (or Export as Clipart... when you right-click, or Export Clipart on the Modeling tab). Give the clip a Name, a Description and some Tags (separated by commas, for searching), choose a Folder and click Save.

Vector clips keep their groups and text. Several components are baked into one, cropped to their outline.

Each clip file also carries a picture of itself (vector shapes filled in, a component shaded from above), which your file manager shows as its thumbnail: see Show file previews in the file manager.

To put the clip in a new folder, type its name in New folder and click Create; the folder is made inside the chosen Folder.

Add file #

Add file... in the Folders section (or File > Add File to Clipart Library...) copies an SVG, DXF, image or .carvioclip file into the selected folder of your library. Carvio then asks for its name, description and tags.

You can also copy files into your library folder with your file manager. A .txt file of the same name beside a file holds its description and a Tags: line.

Rescan #

Rescan reads the library folders again, to pick up files you added or removed outside Carvio.

Folders and editing #

To make a folder in your library, type its name in the New folder name box and click Create; it goes inside the selected folder of your library.

Clips in your own library can be changed: select one and click Edit... to change its name, description, tags and folder, or Delete to remove it from the library. The same commands are in the menu when you right-click a thumbnail. Clipart that comes with Carvio cannot be edited or deleted.