Hi there,

I'm new to this list which I found after failing to get onto inkscapeforum.com (which seems to be dead).

I've been looking at inkscape/svg for a while now and I'm considering using it in application development using Python/Javascript.

I find inkscape very useful for setting up the graphics and editing them but it leaves translation and other transforms in place on groups etc. after you move them about. This has two issues:

i) It slows things down as the transforms must be applied every time the svg is presented even though they always yield the same result.

ii) It makes it hard for code manipulating the SVG DOM because the transformations add a layer of obfuscation.

Furthermore, browser implementations (chrome & firefox) seem to be buggy regarding SMIL animations on paths if these transforms are left in - they honour the transforms for the path itself but do not honour them for the associated animation posititions.

I need to simplify these transforms out of the SVG.

To rephrase:
I create a rectangle in Inkscape and move it around - the x and y attributes update as expected.
I stick a text object over the rectangle and group them together.
Now I move the group and I get a "transform = translate(188.98349, -58.129834)" attribute associated with the group rather than the x,y positions being updated as I want.

I need to be able to click a button (or set a preference) so that these static transforms (which accumulate) are applied to the attributes and then removed such that the svg is left in a simpler but graphically identical state.

Is there some 'standard' or known way to achieve this simplification that I am missing? I will happily RTFM if pointed in the right direction - 'I've tried googling to no avail.

TIA,
Paul Whipp

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Mobile: 0410 545 357

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