Issue with exporting files

[wvmarle]

I found two issues with the Export function (File > Export Ctrl-E).

When you activate that function, and have nothing selected, it says "Please select first the objects you want to export." Fair enough.
Then I select one part of my device (it basically has four separate parts - I just choose one of them), Ctrl-E, and now I get the export window.
Enter the name, select svg as output format.
Result: an image of the complete device, not only the parts that I selected, as it is on my screen.

The issue here: first it demands me to make a selection, then it ignores this selection.
Do you intend to always export whatever is displayed on the screen in svg? Then it shouldn't ask for a selection - the solution for this issue (mostly a UI issue) could be to add an extra option to the File menu for export svg and other image formats.
Or do you intend to export an image of only the selection? Then the export function itself has an issue.

Now the svg export was not what I wanted to do, I just ran into this issue by accident. So I moved on, and exported the part in STEP format. Reopen the file, and the one part that I selected is there. Great.

Second part of my device: this is a group of objects. So I select the group (by selecting the folder icon, not the individual parts that make up the group - just what you'd do to show/hide the complete group), and pressed Export. The export file chooser pops up, I enter my name, and click OK.
Then I try to open the file to check the content. File... what file? There is no file. It pretends to export but it doesn't. The python console messages look normal:
>>> __objs__=[]
>>> __objs__.append(FreeCAD.getDocument("mini_hydroponics_setup").getObject("Group001"))
>>> import ImportGui
>>> ImportGui.export(__objs__,u"/home/wouter/Documents/CAD drawings/test.step")
>>> del __objs__

Expanding the group (by clicking on the triangle) and then selecting all the objects that are in the group does give the desired result. Looking at the Python console messages it appears to be a bug in the getObject function, where it somehow doesn't return a list of the objects in the group.

Btw I just tried the bugtracker at http://www.freecadweb.org/tracker/, and I can't seem to log in using my forum credentials. Do I really have to re-register there?

[shoogen]

There are file formats, for which multiple exporters are available. You need to select the right one from the drop down menu.
Popular examples are SVG (3d view vs. flattened (vs. drawing)) and OBJ (arch vs. mesh).

Btw I just tried the bugtracker at http://www.freecadweb.org/tracker/, and I can't seem to log in using my forum credentials. Do I really have to re-register there?

Yes

[wvmarle]

The issue is not with the file formats or the choosing of them. The issue is that the exporter does not export what I expect it to do.

[shoogen]

The problem is that before choosing the exporter, there is no way to tell if the selection will be respected.
So, if the 3D view SVG exporter is probably the only one not respecting the selection we should move him to the view -> screen shot utility?

[quick61]

The problem is that before choosing the exporter, there is no way to tell if the selection will be respected.
So, if the 3D view SVG exporter is probably the only one not respecting the selection we should move him to the view -> screen shot utility?

Yes, I think that is a good idea. 3D SVG It's not really an export so much as a capture. Flattened SVG is the exporter for SVG format.

Mark

[quick61]

Feature request - issue #1792

Listed this under file formats, but please change if it should be under the general FreeCAD heading.

Mark

[Kunda1]

...

@NormandC do you mind weighing in on this discussion ?