Craft Robo, Mac and Silhouette Studio Software

[Lucille]

Hi Lucille

I have asked Brian to look into your saving problem and he was able to replicate it, it is obviously a bug and I will report it back to the development team

Phil

I wouldn't call it a bug but, I look forward to hearing the outcome, obviously saving in GSD format isn't out of the question if Studio can save GSDs now, I'm sure a good programmer can make it happen.

[pesco]

Hi Phil

You say - I have been following this thread for a while now, but I feel now is the time to jump in and offer a bit more clarity.

---This is appreciated. I note you are from Graphtec, are Graphtec and Silhouette America (SA) one and the same Company now?


You say - Firstly I would like to say it is not our policy to give software away and get everybody 'hooked' as Lucille implies only to charge for it later on....

---Your confirmation of this is very welcome, because some of my/our recent negative experiences with SA, without accompanying information or explanations, have triggered unease, not least because unexpected and sometimes detrimental changes to our computers and processes have occurred, which has only served to make us wonder just what is going on.


You say - The truth of the matter is, RoboMaster is now 6 years old and needs to be updated, but any software developer will tell you what was a good platform 6 years ago has its limitations now....

---A Company’s needs to be able to operate in a competitive market are understood, but I would have thought it would also be in a Company’s interests to keep existing customers’ needs and interests in mind.

---The truth of the matter for me is, that I paid a not inconsiderable sum for a QK Silhouette SD cutting machine earlier this year, and I also complied with your Company’s requirement that I pay a subscription charge in advance to enable me to download an unlimited number of designs for a set period of time set by your Company.

---In exchange I have experienced months of upset, worry and extra work, including through the night, due to problems caused by your Company and its software downloads. There have also been weeks when I haven’t been able to use my cutter or access designs I bought, and now I find your Company is not allowing me to download designs for which I have already paid. At present it appears my purchases are not fit for purpose.


You say - Silhouette Studio is going to be our solution for 2011, it is still a work in progress, and when finished hopefully around Christmas, it will be included in the box...

---Until 29.10.10, design downloads via Robo Master(RM) also resulted in template and thumbnail files being installed on our computers which was a huge benefit, but this does not occur with downloads via Silhouette Studio.
Are there any plans to ensure this benefit will be incorporated into Silhouette Studio software?

---Now SA are preventing me from receiving design downloads via RoboMaster

---Will designs continue to be available in GSD format once Silhouette Studio is finished, or are you aiming for them to only be available in Silhouette Studio format?


You say - We are not getting rid of RoboMaster, it is and will always be available as a FREE download, so if you are not comfortable with Silhouette Studio, please don't use it... We are not trying to dictate which software you use ...

---Unfortunately my inability to download designs I have already bought via RM does not seem to support your latter statement. I understood RM would be supported until end of November/Year, but although I was able to download designs via RM on 28.10.10, I was stopped from doing so the day after, which suggests that changes have been made at SA’s end.

---Now I have been advised installing Silhouette Studio will allow me to recover the designs that did not download, or alternatively I could download yet something else from SA and then recover the designs through my account.

---Previous experiences of SA downloads suggest that pursuing further SA downloads may well be against my interests.

---On checking my account I am amazed to see it shows 2 orders I attempted to make that were stopped from downloading therefore didn’t receive, so how can I recover them, and/or where are they now?

---What steps will SA make to ensure they are able to comply with their side of the agreement to provide me with unlimited designs for the remainder of my subscription?


You say - I don't yet know why it will not save as .GSD, but I suspect that there must be a technical reason why not, otherwise we would have done it...

---As you say you suspect technical reasons are underpinning this problem, are you able to confirm that all other reasons, e.g. commercial considerations have been ruled out.

---Can you advise whether a GSD design that has been manipulated in Silhouette Studio be capable of being saved to an SD card for use in my QK Silhouette SD away from my computer, and if yes, in what format will it be saved on the SD card?

Your consideration of and response to my queries will be very much appreciated. Thanks

[philk]

Hi Pesco

I am sorry that you have been having so many problems with your Silhouette.

I am from Graphtec GB, and not from Silhouette (at the moment)

As you know, Graphtec manufacture the CraftROBO. Silhouette America sell the CraftROBO under it's own brand 'Silhouette' and they also sell designs from their image library. There have been two different versions of RoboMaster, our version without a link to the Silhouette store, and the Silhouette version which was modified to connect to the Silhouette store.

As Silhouette are based in America, it has been very difficult to offer local support.

Recently, Graphtec America have acquired Silhouette America, and after a great deal of deliberation, we have decided that as we are now all under the same umbrella, it is silly to carry on as two brands and we will over a period of time evolve so that both products are branded Silhouette.

We are in the process of opening up Silhouette Europe based in our Amsterdam headquarters, and we are currently in the middle of a transition, and the coming months will see many changes that will improve your experience.

The new Silhouette Studio is not finished, and as I have said earlier, it is still a work in progress. Personally, I believe it has been released too early and there are still a few glitches that need ironing out.

Here at Graphtec GB, we pride ourselves on the backup and support we give to customers, and once the transition is complete, we will be offering the same support to Silhouette customers.

I understand you have been trying to get support from Silhouette America, and I am very sorry that it has fallen short of your expectations. If you email me at philk@graphtecgb.com with the full details of your problem I will try to sort it out for you.

Phil

[pesco]

Hi Phil

Thank you so much for your response, it really is appreciated.

I was in the process of preparing an email to send to Silhouette when I saw your message, and because I am still not sure of who fits where I am afraid I thought you might have been part of the Silhouette group.

Thank you also for your offer to try to sort things out for me, but I think I will continue with my email to them, because after all it is their problem (even though I am one of the ones who are suffering), but if it is possible I would appreciate being able to take up your offer at a later date if I cannot sort things out.

If the situation wasn't so painful and damaging it would be laughable. When you consider that we are the customers, yet even in these times of austerity, and presumably increased competition, SA seem to have an expectation that we will accept being greatly inconvenienced, will take all the poor service and risks they propose, and do all the work necessary to achieve what we paid for in the first place. Absolute madness!

[Angel13]

Angela,

I'm pretty sure I read something which suggested that people do not have to depend on cartridges to be able to cut on a Cricut, as pictures can be converted into, for want of a better description, 'Cricut language'. Something along the lines of 'Goodbye to Cricut cartridges'.

Its actually popped into my mind a couple of times recently, as a possible alternative should continued use with Sil prove to be unattainable.

Are their files SVG files or something else?

Hi Pesco

The program that the Cricut users use is called SCAL, and yes its similar to Inkscape, but I was talking about the New Imagine Cricut....

[pesco]

Hi Angela

Thanks for this.

I think I know the Cricut you mean, if it is the one that was on special offer on IW quite recently.

At first I thought it was well overpriced, but then remembered it deals with 12 x 12 and also has the HP printer, so maybe its not too bad. But as you mentioned, the price of the cartridges is a bit off putting especially if, as you say, they only contain a couple designs that you really want, but its nice to know you don't have to use the cartridges.

However the major deterrent for me was the price of the ink cartridges. At one point they did mention how many pages you might get from one cartridge, and I thought it was ridiculously low, but I suppose it might be possible to refill the cartridges, which could seriously bring the cost of printing down.

[Faeriequeen]

Good news! Just managed to download the designs that wouldn't download the other night from QK online store and they went straight into my Robomaster templates I haven't downloaded any new update etc, so if you have files that you need to recover try it now while it's working.

[JuneC]

Hi Pesco

I am sorry that you have been having so many problems with your Silhouette.

I am from Graphtec GB, and not from Silhouette (at the moment)

As you know, Graphtec manufacture the CraftROBO. Silhouette America sell the CraftROBO under it's own brand 'Silhouette' and they also sell designs from their image library. There have been two different versions of RoboMaster, our version without a link to the Silhouette store, and the Silhouette version which was modified to connect to the Silhouette store.

As Silhouette are based in America, it has been very difficult to offer local support.

Recently, Graphtec America have acquired Silhouette America, and after a great deal of deliberation, we have decided that as we are now all under the same umbrella, it is silly to carry on as two brands and we will over a period of time evolve so that both products are branded Silhouette.

We are in the process of opening up Silhouette Europe based in our Amsterdam headquarters, and we are currently in the middle of a transition, and the coming months will see many changes that will improve your experience.

The new Silhouette Studio is not finished, and as I have said earlier, it is still a work in progress. Personally, I believe it has been released too early and there are still a few glitches that need ironing out.

Here at Graphtec GB, we pride ourselves on the backup and support we give to customers, and once the transition is complete, we will be offering the same support to Silhouette customers.

I understand you have been trying to get support from Silhouette America, and I am very sorry that it has fallen short of your expectations. If you email me at philk@graphtecgb.com with the full details of your problem I will try to sort it out for you.

Phil

Phil, I have been following this thread along with others, I do have the craft robo cc330, and have downloaded the Silloutte Studio software, I know it will open GSD files and that there is no option to save as GSD at the moment, but even so can I cut from it, it seems to only show the Silloutte machine at present, or am I looking in the wrong place?
One other thing just from being curious, what exactly are GST files, if we can open them why can we not save to that format, I am just interested as the files in the template folder are GST
June

[DJG]

One other thing just from being curious, what exactly are GST files, if we can open them why can we not save to that format, I am just interested as the files in the template folder are GST
June

GST are the Robo templates I haven't tried the software so I don't know if there is an option to save as a GST

[Lucille]

GST are the Robo templates I haven't tried the software so I don't know if there is an option to save as a GST

There is no option to save as .GST only .Studio and of course, the hit the save icon by mistake and overwrite your GSD never to be opened again in RM 5.1 which would imply that saving in GSD format is possible, whether or not the powers that be choose to let us have that option or simply fix the code/programming from saving as GSD remains to be seen.

[JuneC]

GST are the Robo templates I haven't tried the software so I don't know if there is an option to save as a GST

No there was no option to save as GST, but wanted to know a bit more about that file format and why it was used in the templates folder
I just like to know these things Doreen

[DJG]

I understand June

[silverst170]

I thought GST was the file format for the sd card.. You had to save as gst before they would go on the sd cards

[DJG]

It must be saved on the card with the same extension as the Robo templates that come free with Robomaster Tina although I didn't realise that because I've never used an sd card with my machine I just looked in programme files/Robomastertemplates to find out

[JuneC]

I thought GST was the file format for the sd card.. You had to save as gst before they would go on the sd cards

Just had a look and the file format for the SD card is GSP, so thats another format
Oh well maybe I will have my curiosity satisfied one day, its no big deal I just like to know these things, used to drive my mother mad as a kid with the questions.