Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Geek Speak => Topic started by: DiscoverDave on 19/11/2009 17:49:48

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: DiscoverDave on 19/11/2009 17:49:48

Help!  My computer tries to open SVG files with Adobe Acrobat but fails.  [:0]  What app should it use?  Thanks!

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: RD on 19/11/2009 18:31:24

If you are trying to manipulate an image GIMP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP) is free and is multi-platform.

[I used GIMP to create the manipulated images posted by me in this thread (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=23522.0)].

The code in SVG files apparently can be read by any text editor (word processor)...

Quote

SVG images can be created and edited with any text editor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics

but I've never done that.

Open office (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org#Components) is a free suite of programmes which can open most files.

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: nicephotog on 20/11/2009 03:13:45

SVG files are not actually designed to be stand alone for use.

SVG is a language that is used in both html and xml markup applications and specifications that was designed to be a programmatically operated graphics handling and drawing system alike flash but not company-generic/not commercial by being a www w3c.org internet specification for binding into modern XML related markups.
e.g. SMIL , XHTML

In essence it is designed to be controlled by scripting for animation by use of SVG - javascript dialect sub-language.A combination of that and DOM3.


List of SVG Inteface objects for OPERA 9
http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/opera95/svg/dominterfaces.xml

DOM Support - language specs for OPERA 9
http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/opera95/#dom

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: LeeE on 20/11/2009 15:10:03

SVG is an acronym for Scalable Vector Graphics.  The purpose of SVG is to provide unlimited resolution 2D images (and animations).

SVG images are most effective at dealing with line-like image features.  If you make an ordinary pixel based image of a curve on a graph and then try to increase its size you don't increase its resolution: if you use no interpolation the curve will just look blocky and jagged, and if you do use interpolation the line will look blurry.

With SVG though, you can define the line by a set of bezier points and tensions so that the actual pixels that draw the line are generated when the image is rendered, so the line will always look sharp regardless of the scaling factor.

Obviously, you can display SVG graphics with any software that has a loader for the format, just as with any other format of image, but you need to use SVG capable painting packages to generate them, as you're not just painting pixels but image features.

As I said, SVG is very good for line drawings, and it is also good for area gradients, but it doesn't bring any benefits to pixel based images, such as photographs.

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: RD on 20/11/2009 18:56:12

Quote

Inkscape is a vector graphics editor application. It is distributed under a free software license

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkscape


I've never used Inkscape but my local [UK] library has it on their computers, (running on Windows XP).

Title: What app should be used to open SVG files?
Post by: nicephotog on 21/11/2009 04:32:43

This is better to see the point

http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/opera95/canvas/