SVG text not working in Cricut? How to turn the text into shapes

Cricut users also commonly report upload warnings that mention “Text elements”. If you see that, or the unsupported-items message on a design with words in it, live text is the first thing to look for. The other items on Cricut’s list are explained in the guide to unsupported SVG items in Cricut.

What editable text looks like inside an SVG

In SVG, text is stored in a <text> element: the characters themselves plus attributes such as the font family and size. The letters are drawn only when a program displays the file, using that font. After conversion, each letter is a path — an outline with its own coordinates — and no font is involved anymore.

<!-- Before: editable text -->
<text x="250" y="168" font-family="Pacifico, cursive" font-size="54">Happy Camper</text>

<!-- After: outlines (path data shortened) -->
<path d="M118.4 152.7c3.1-8.2 …z"/>

Why the font matters

A <text> element only refers to a font by name; the font file isn’t inside the SVG. If the program that opens the file doesn’t have that font, it falls back to another one, and the lettering changes: different letter shapes, widths and spacing. A script font replaced by a plain one is the most obvious case, but even similar fonts shift the layout.

That’s why text needs to become shapes for cutting. An outline is a drawing of each letter, so it looks the same in every program and gives the machine an exact line to follow.

How to convert text to outlines, step by step

Keep an editable copy first. Save your file under a second name (for example “design-editable”) before converting. Outlined letters can’t be turned back into text, so the copy is what you’ll use to change the wording later.

Adobe Illustrator

1. Check that the text shows in the intended font, so the outlines match the original lettering.
2. Select the text objects you want to convert.
3. Choose Type › Create Outlines (Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+O). Each text object becomes a group of letter shapes.
4. Export the SVG. Adobe’s help notes that outlined text can no longer be edited as text (Adobe Help: Create outline text).

Inkscape

1. Check that the text shows in the intended font.
2. Select the text objects with the selection tool.
3. Choose Path › Object to Path. The text becomes a group of paths.
4. Confirm the selection is now described as paths or a group, not text, then save the SVG.

Affinity Designer

1. Check that the text shows in the intended font.
2. Select the text layers in the Layers panel.
3. Choose Layer › Convert to Curves. Affinity’s help notes that font properties are no longer available after conversion (Affinity Designer 2 Help: Convert to Curves).
4. Export with File › Export › SVG.

Check the result before uploading

• The letters are shapes now. Select a word with the direct selection or node tool: you should see anchor points around each letter, and the text tool can’t edit it.
• No text is left anywhere. Text on hidden layers, inside groups or outside the artboard is still text in the file. Delete it or convert it too, then run the exported file through the free Cricut SVG checker to confirm no text element remains.
• Script letters may be separate pieces. Converting usually turns each letter into its own shape, even when the letters overlap. Joining them so a word cuts as one piece is a separate step: Design Space’s Weld tool joins overlapping shapes, and your design app can do the same with a union (Illustrator: Pathfinder › Unite; Inkscape: Path › Union).
• The path count can go up. Converted letters usually become separate paths, which matters for long passages of text in a file close to Cricut’s documented limit of 5,000 paths.

Converting text is one item on a longer list. The pre-upload checklist for Cricut SVGs covers the rest, from clipping paths to the document size.

Text on a path and text with effects

Text that follows a curve (<textPath> in SVG) converts the same way: Create Outlines, Object to Path or Convert to Curves turn the letters into shapes in their curved positions. Depending on the app, the curve the text follows can remain as a separate object (Inkscape keeps it); delete it if you don’t want it cut.

Effects applied to text don’t disappear when you convert it. An outline (stroke) around the letters is still a stroke and needs Object › Expand in Illustrator or Path › Stroke to Path in Inkscape if it should be cut. A gradient fill is a pattern fill, which Cricut also lists as unsupported. Drop shadows and glows are filters with nothing to cut. Give converted lettering solid colors and remove or expand effects before you export.

If the upload comes in empty even after converting, the cause lies elsewhere: see why an SVG shows up blank in Cricut, or work through the full list of reasons an SVG won’t upload.

What FixMySVG can and can’t do with text

Once the text is converted, upload the new SVG to the FixMySVG checker to confirm the text warning is gone and let Safe Fix tidy up what it safely can.