How to save a Silhouette Studio file as SVG
Silhouette Studio saves SVG only in Business Edition. How to do it there, and how to get a .studio3 design out through a PDF or a tracing in other editions.
Published
Silhouette Studio can save a design as an SVG, but only in Business Edition. Silhouette’s own software page puts it in one line: opening an SVG needs Designer Edition or above, and saving one needs Business Edition. In the free Basic Edition, and in Designer and Designer Plus, designs are saved in Silhouette’s own format, a file ending in .studio3. To get such a design into another program without Business Edition, print it to a PDF and convert that, or export a picture and trace it.
What each edition can do
| Edition | Opens SVG | Saves SVG |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (free) | No | No |
| Designer | Yes | No |
| Designer Plus | Yes | No |
| Business | Yes | Yes |
The edition name is shown in the program’s title bar. All four are the same program with different features unlocked, so an upgrade does not mean reinstalling or losing designs.
Save as SVG in Business Edition
- Open the design.
- Convert any text you want fixed in its font to shapes: select it, right-click and choose Convert to Path.
- Choose File, Save As, Save to Hard Drive.
- In the save window, choose SVG as the file type, give the file a name and save.
Open the result in the SVG viewer to check it. The viewer draws the file and lists what is inside, including any text or embedded pictures, and shows the size the file claims. If the design is going to a Cricut, how to upload an SVG to Cricut Design Space lists what that program accepts.
Designs bought from the Silhouette Design Store cannot be saved as SVG or PDF: Silhouette’s own blog says they are written as dotted outlines, as a protection for its designers. Only shapes you made yourself are exported. The same window also saves PDF, PNG and JPG.
Without Business Edition
A .studio3 file is in a format of Silhouette’s own, and general drawing programs such as Inkscape and Illustrator do not open it. None of the tools on this site read it. The ways round that all go through Silhouette Studio itself.
Ask for the SVG. If the design was bought from a designer, the download often includes an SVG already, or the seller can supply one. This is the only route that gives the original shapes exactly.
Print to a PDF, then convert. This works for designs you drew yourself.
- Give each shape a visible line or a fill. Cut lines with no thickness and no fill are not printed.
- Choose File, Print. On a Mac, use the PDF button in the print window and choose Save as PDF. On Windows, choose Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer.
- Open the PDF in PDF to SVG and download the SVG.
Printing to PDF often keeps shapes as vector outlines, and when it does, the SVG holds the same curves. The converter says so if the page turns out to hold only a picture, and in that case use the tracing route below. If registration marks are switched on, switch them off before printing, or delete them from the SVG afterwards.
Export a picture, then trace it. Take a screenshot of the design, zoomed in as far as fits the screen, with solid black shapes on white, then trace it with PNG to SVG in black and white. A tracing follows the pixels, so it is close but not exact, and small details can be lost. Make the picture as large as possible first.
Upgrade. If designs need to leave Silhouette Studio often, Business Edition is the direct answer. It is a paid upgrade.
Which route to use
| Situation | Route |
|---|---|
| You have Business Edition | Save As, SVG |
| A bought design, and the seller offers SVG | Use the seller’s SVG |
| Your own design, simple shapes | Print to PDF, then PDF to SVG |
| Only a picture can be got out | Trace it |
| It needs doing often | Upgrade |
Common problems
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| There is no SVG in the list of file types | The edition is not Business | Use one of the other routes |
| The PDF page is blank | The shapes have no line thickness or fill | Give them a line weight or a fill and print again |
| The converter reports no vector shapes | The print was made as a picture | Trace it instead |
| The traced outline is lumpy | The picture was too small | Export or screenshot at a larger size |
| The size is different in the other program | The size was not carried, or is read differently | Set it with resize SVG |
| Letters are separate overlapping shapes | Script text was not welded | Weld the text in Silhouette Studio before exporting |
Questions
Can a .studio3 file be converted online? Be careful with sites that offer it. The format is Silhouette’s own, and a design uploaded to a converter has been handed to someone else. Going through Silhouette Studio keeps the file on your computer.
Can I sell an SVG made from a design I bought? Not unless the licence says so. Converting a file to another format does not change who owns the design.
How do I go the other way, from SVG into Silhouette Studio? With File, Open in Designer Edition or above. Opening an SVG in Silhouette Studio covers that, with what to do in Basic Edition.