Converting .eps files

Use this forum to ask questions about how to do things in QCAD.

Moderator: andrew

Forum rules

Always indicate your operating system and QCAD version.

Attach drawing files and screenshots.

Post one question per topic.

Post Reply
kenterm
Junior Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:28 am

Converting .eps files

Post by kenterm » Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:16 am

I need to get an .eps file into QCAD. I do not have Adobe, CorelDraw or any high end program. Converters such as EPS Viewer, Zamzar and IrfanView all read the .eps file great but none of them even write a vector file, only bitmaps. I need to get the file into QCAD so that I can modify it on a program I am familiar with. Any help would be appreciated.

As a side question - is there a reason that there are two identical .svg file type options in the "Open" dialog box?

I am using QCAD Pro 3.19.2.0 [64-bit] & W7 [64-bit].

I have checked the Andrew Mustun book, the online help and this forum for an answer with no luck.

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by andrew » Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:57 am

I'd start by googling for "EPS to DXF". Going through PDF might be an alternative (EPS and PDF are close relatives and conversion will be lossless). I.e. EPS -> PDF -> DXF. There are many PDF to DXF converters available.

EPS -> SVG is also worth looking into.

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by andrew » Thu Jan 25, 2018 10:11 am

I did some quick tests with an EPS file I had.

It looks like the best route might be EPS -> SVG -> QCAD.

For example through:
https://cloudconvert.com/eps-to-svg
https://convertio.co/eps-svg/
...

kenterm
Junior Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:28 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by kenterm » Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:46 pm

Thanks Andrew. I tried 7 online and downloadable converters, converting to dxf, dwf, and svg formats. They all worked fine except that all of them dropped the color from the eps images. Any ideas? Considering that your response was time stamped at approx 5 AM I hope you are not in the eastern time zone!

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by andrew » Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:06 pm

kenterm wrote:They all worked fine except that all of them dropped the color from the eps images.
OK. It likely doesn't get better than that, I'm afraid. If you attach the EPS and SVG, I can tell if the problem is in the EPS->SVG or SVG->QCAD part.
kenterm wrote:Considering that your response was time stamped at approx 5 AM I hope you are not in the eastern time zone!
No, I'm in Europe :)

kenterm
Junior Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:28 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by kenterm » Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:56 pm

The .svg file is attached. When I try to attach the .eps file an error comes up saying the .eps file extension is invalid! .eps is one of the most common vector file types. Strange! This file opens correctly in many other programs. So I changed the extension to .dxf and it accepted it. . You will have to change it back to .eps when you get it. Thanks for the help.

I am using QCAD Pro 3.19.2.0 [64-bit] & W7 [64-bit].
Attachments
Hawks Head.dxf
(121.93 KiB) Downloaded 333 times
Hawks Head.svg
(57.46 KiB) Downloaded 368 times

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by andrew » Fri Jan 26, 2018 12:11 am

Thanks.

Unfortunately, this is not the type of technical drawing you would typically want to view or edit in a CAD application. This is much more of an illustrative drawing (think Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, etc.).

You should be able to get the basic geometry across into CAD, but not much more than that, I'm afraid.

kenterm
Junior Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:28 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by kenterm » Fri Jan 26, 2018 3:21 am

Hi Andrew,

The EPS file I sent you is one of a group that was given to me. It is not one I want to get into QCAD, it was the first one I grabbed. The others are technical drawings of door & window hardware. However they all convert with the same error – no color.

But I would like to attempt to get the others into QCAD. You may be right that it is likely that it will not get any better than it is now.
Were you able to determine if the problem is in the EPS->SVG or the SVG->QCAD part? That may solve one half of the problem.

I want to thank you for your effort and apologize if I confused the discussion with “The Hawk”.

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by andrew » Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:03 am

I would recommend to open the intermediate SVG file in an illustrator type application (e.g. Inkscape) to give you some insight into the structure of the data. The hawk was not really in a state that would allow for further processing without some extensive effort. Again, this might depend largely on the particular EPS file.

kenterm
Junior Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:28 am

Re: Converting .eps files

Post by kenterm » Fri Jan 26, 2018 5:05 pm

OK I will do as you suggest. Thanks again for your advice.

Regards - Ken Terminini

Post Reply

Return to “QCAD 'How Do I' Questions”