Command line tool to convert SVG to EMF (Enhanced Metafile)

Question

I know I can use Save as in Inkscape to convert from SVG to Enhanced Metafile (EMF). But if I have several files this is a bit cumbersome. Is there a command line tool I could use instead?

You saved my life by making me discover Inkscape. Works much better than AI for creating EMF ! — iDevlop, Jun 12 '13 at 10:36

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 19 '16 at 13:50

23

If you want the exact command to do this here it is:

$ inkscape --file <Input-file> --export-emf <output-file>

answered Oct 19 '16 at 13:50

gst

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Side comment: You might want to install `sudo apt-get install libcanberra-gtk-module` to overcome the `Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"` Gtk-Message which is shown every time one executes the command. – JJD Jun 10 '19 at 15:00

score 16 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 21 '20 at 22:11

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With Inkscape 1.0 the commands changed. And since this is the top Google result, I thought it might be worth to update the answer:

inkscape filename.svg --export-filename filename.emf

answered Aug 21 '20 at 22:11

Azrael_DD

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This should be the correct answer today (version 1.0.1) – Constructor May 29 '21 at 04:17
I tried all online tools in first page of google search "svg to emf", but they add black background while converting [this](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1glhwDJsjiDNLF3flmpgtIVfurum29xcQ/view?usp=sharing) svg to emf. Same is the case of above command. – RajS Jun 04 '22 at 17:26
With `inskscape --export-type="emf" myartwork.svg` you can skip explicitly naming the output file. – matt wilkie Oct 03 '22 at 19:41

score 13 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 22 '12 at 09:50

13

Looks like you can use inkscape from the command lone to do this with the -M switch.

http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/CommandLine-Export.html

answered Jun 22 '12 at 09:50

Nick R

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Excellent. Just what I was looking for. – hlovdal Jun 22 '12 at 13:04
This option is not present in Inkscape 0.48.4 :( – rumtscho Apr 02 '13 at 17:58
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@rumtscho AFAIK it is only available under Windows – f3lix Nov 14 '13 at 11:48
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@f3lix I don't remember the circumstances of making this comment, but there is a good chance I was on Linux. I was going to ask you how to do it on Linux then, but I guess this is offtopic enough to merit its own question. – rumtscho Nov 14 '13 at 12:06
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Hmm. This seems to use bitmap export, I'd like to maintain it as a vector EMF file. – Jason S Mar 28 '14 at 20:50
@Jason Just tested on OSX and it creates a vector emf for me. – rac2030 Mar 04 '16 at 08:49
Some notes: the options can not be set on cli but it will use the last settings that have been used from gui – rac2030 Mar 04 '16 at 08:50

Command line tool to convert SVG to EMF (Enhanced Metafile)

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