K40 Whisperer – Input SVG File Errors

K40 Whisperer is a bit finicky about the SVG files that it will accept.  If you are importing files from sources other than a recent version of Inkscape (v.91 or v.92) you will likely be confronted with an error indicating that the SVG scale cannot be determined (i.e. “Cannot determine SVG scale.”).  This error or an error indicating that the  “Units not set in SVG File” is displayed when K40 Whisperer does not have enough information to conclusively determine the intended physical size of the design in the SVG file. K40 Whisperer attempts to provide some guidance to assist in getting the SVG file into a format with the needed information. However, the information provided is sometimes incomplete.  I am working toward making K40 Whisperer more flexible with respect to the file formats it will accept but until that task is completed here are a couple of procedures to make your SVG files work with K40 Whisperer.

Procedure Option A:

1. Open a new SVG file in Inkscape V.91 or newer.
2. Select “File”-“Import” to import the SVG design you want to use.
3. Format the page size as needed (usually done by selecting “File”-“Document Properties”-“Resize page to drawing or selection”)
4. Verify the “Units” are set to “mm” or “inches” in the “Custom Size” section of the “Page” Tab in the Document properties
5. Save the new SVG file.

Procedure Option B:

1. Open the SVG file you want to use in Inkscape V.92 or newer
2. Selecting “File”-“Documents Properties”
3. On the “Page” tab locate the “Scale x:” value and note the value.  Change the value to another number and press enter.  The new value can be anything.  (Increasing the value by a small number like .001 makes it easy to change it back in the next step.)
4. Change the “Scale x:” value back to the original value and press enter.
5. Verify the “Units” are set to “mm” or “inches” in the “Custom Size” section of the “Page” Tab in the Document properties.
6. Save the SVG file.

These procedures will each result in an SVG file that contains the necessary information to indicate the real physical size intended for the SVG file. This information is partially encoded in the viewbox attribute which is added to the SVG file when either of these procedures are followed.