Trace image
From an image to vector paths
Opening it
Right-click menu › Tools › Trace image…. The panel opens detached and stays open until you close it; it works on the selected image — including a photo placed on the page, which is a use. With no image selected it says "Select an image" and Trace is disabled.
The parameters
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Colors | the palette colors, taken from the image: from 2 to 64; 16 by default |
| Tolerance | the tolerance of lines and curves, in pixels; 1 by default |
| Despeckle | specks smaller than this many pixels are discarded; 8 by default |
| Blur | the blur applied before tracing, from 0 to 5 |
| Preview | off by default; when on, it traces the image a quarter of a second after the last adjustment and paints the result over it, without creating anything |
Trace
The button creates a "trace" group of paths above the image, with the same position and size, in one step. If a preview with the current parameters already exists, it reuses it.
- The image stays as it is: there is no link between it and the result.
- The parameters are kept in the panel, not in the document.
- Tracing works on at most 1200 pixels on the long side.
- The panel's × also removes the preview.
Tracing runs in the browser window: on a large photo, each adjustment with the preview on can freeze the editor for a few seconds.