Removing a portion of an image (SVG)

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Hi!

I need to remove a small part of an imported SVG.  I know how to move parts of an image around within a frame, and also how to crop parts of the image/SVG, but I need to know how to remove a small section like a corner of an SVG. I have attached a screenshot with a small box around the area I need to remove, for ease of reference.  I've tried the scissors tool but this only seems to work from point to another point.

Please can someone tell me if this can be done?  Similar to the way the Shapes Builder tool works in Illustrator where part of something can be erased.

If it were possible to do it in the program before it gets put into InDesign if I could, but it's not possible.

Thank you in advance!

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I don't believe InDesign supports any kind of actual image editing, although it can drop directly to Photoshop, for example.

I'm pretty sure Illustrator can edit SVGs, although I'm not sure the access through ID is so direct.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I was away from my desk for the above. Yes, Illustrator edits and re-saves SVGs directly, although I think of it as safer to save and edit in AI format and export to SVG.

I would not use SVG for print, though. Use directly placed AI or PDF for vector graphics in ID.

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Please can you expand on why not to use SVGs for print? I create the files/images in a program that exports as pretty much everything (two of which are PDFs and SVGs), but when I exported PDFs and imported them into InDesign they were quite fuzzy and out of focus, but the SVGs were super crisp.

If I use SVGs in InDesign and export all as a pdf at the end, will that be ok for print? 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

It may well work, especially through a PDF export. SVG is a newer format developed primarily to allow vector graphics on web pages and other digital documents, and its handling by apps for creation, editing and printing is uneven. It's a good choice for e-books, for example, but there are too many variables in the whole chain, and I've seen enough technical snarls involving it, that I'd recommend using a more stable format for any project of consequence.

I know a bit about scores and sheet music, and there's another regular here who does music publishing and has all the battle scars from getting to successful results. It's a lot of work and all things considered, I'd export to PDF and place that in ID as the better choice over SVG.

(Completely aside-note, because we're here: don't use the equivalent new format WEBP for anything involving printing.)

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Thanks James! I just tried exporting it as a PDF and all the SVGs were included and they look great so it's all good on that front! It's not been an easy project (seems like music theory is MUCH easier than battling through InDesign haha) but I'm starting to get to know the program now. Thanks for the advice on WEBP! You've been very helpful!

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I find InDesign much easier, despite many years of being the only nonmusician in a family of musicians and having music theory, history, composition and score engraving poured on me constantly. 🙂

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Haha. I'm new to this side so the music theory seems easier 😁. But my actual knowledge is songwriting and vocal production in Logic Pro, so pretty much all of this "creating a book thing", photoshop, Illlustrator etc is a lot like Greek (when you're not Greek!) Thus why I'm here asking the masters!

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Ah ok thanks so much. I suspected as much but was hoping for a possibility!  Thank you James!

[BobLevine]

Well, it's certainly not possible in InDesign.

[Carolyn32257242he70]

I thought maybe that was the case, thanks for confirming!  

[John D Herzog]

You cannot edit the image in InDesign. You can alter the containing box to knock out that corner like you would with a clipping mask. If you have "Crop Image Data to Frames" selected in compression, it will delete that corner if exporting it as a PDF.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

That's a valid approach, but bordering on a hack for what looks to be a repetitive layout/project. Best to back up all the way to source art and make it right rather than paste stuff over stuff in ID — IMVHO.

[John D Herzog]

I agree. Personally, I would take it into Illustrator and fix the link. If all you have is InDesign though, this could get you a new base file. You just cannot export SVGs from InDesign.

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Thank you both! Yes I have the suite so I could fix it in Photoshop first, which would be the best option, but I could also just alter the way I display it so that removing it isn't necessary (different layout in the music program before it gets to ID). I have been able to export the project from InDesign (including the SVGs) in PDF format and it all looks great with everything in position. Thanks again!

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Hi @Carolyn32257242he70 ,

your SVG file uses RGB colors. What you need most likely for a pure black & white print job is pure CMYK Black color.

So if you need editing the SVG file, open it in Adobe Illustrator, remove the part you do not want, convert all colors to CMYK Black. Make sure that all fills and strokes are 100% Black. Then save the file as an Adobe Illustrator file and place it on your InDesign page.

If you are unsure how to edit, recolor and save the graphic in Illustrator, ask in the Adobe Illustrator forum:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/ct-p/ct-illustrator?page=1&sort=latest_replies&lang=all&t...

If you are fine with the graphic file format SVG and the RGB color space you could also mask the corner of the graphic in InDesign.

Simply draw out a rectangle on top of the corner you like to remove. Select the rectangle plus the graphic frame that holds your SVG. Use the function "subtract", the second one in the Pathfinder panel under Pathfinder. From my German InDesign:

Result, a graphic frame that is a polygon with two additional path points:

Direct selection tool showing the path points:

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[Carolyn32257242he70]

Hi Uwe... 

This is very helpful thank you so much!  I'll try it, (and also check the Black and white on SVGs because they DO need to have no colour whatsoever for the print costs!), so thank you once again!