Troubleshooting

This page lists common issues and practical fixes.

If you still need help after trying the steps below, include:

  • your IconVectors version (see Help ‣ About Axialis IconVectors…),

  • your Windows version,

  • the steps to reproduce the problem,

  • the SVG/bitmap file that triggers the issue (if possible),

  • screenshots of the dialog or error message.

Quick fixes checklist

Try these first; they resolve many “mysterious” issues:

  1. Reset the workspace layout

    • View ‣ Restore UI Default Positions

  2. Show the panels you need (they can be closed/hidden)

    • Preview Panel: View ‣ Preview Panel — Ctrl+F8

    • Layers Panel: View ‣ Layers Panel — F7

    • Source Code Viewer: View ‣ Source Code… — F3

  3. Center the canvas (useful after zooming/panning or when imported artwork seems “lost”)

    • View ‣ Center Canvas — Alt+C

  4. Check for updates

    • Help ‣ Check For Updates…

  5. Restart IconVectors after changing language or theme

    • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → General tab

Workspace and panels

My panels are missing, hidden or undocked

IconVectors panels can be closed with the X button, hidden via the View menu, or undocked by dragging their title bar.

To restore the default layout:

  • View ‣ Restore UI Default Positions

To toggle common panels:

  • Preview Panel: View ‣ Preview Panel — Ctrl+F8

  • Layers Panel: View ‣ Layers Panel — F7

  • Source Code Viewer: View ‣ Source Code… — F3

Tip

If a panel is floating (undocked), drag it by its title bar toward the right side of the main window until docking guides appear, then release.

Tip

If you used multiple monitors and a panel opens “off-screen”, resetting the UI layout is the fastest fix: View ‣ Restore UI Default Positions.

I can’t find the Preview Panel

The Preview Panel is docked by default on the right side of the main window above the Layers panel.

  • Toggle it from the menu: View ‣ Preview Panel — Ctrl+F8

  • If it’s floating, it may be behind other windows—bring it to the front and dock it again.

See also: The Preview Panel.

The Preview Panel looks pixelated or blurry

This usually comes from the Preview Panel render mode:

  • Pixel mode intentionally displays pixels (and becomes more pixelated when zoomed).

  • Vector mode displays smooth vector rendering.

In the Preview Panel local toolbar:

  1. Switch Pixel / Vector to the mode you need.

  2. Adjust Scale.

Tip

Use Pixel mode to check crispness at native resolution and small sizes. Use Vector mode to check the general shape and curves at larger sizes.

The Source Code Viewer is not visible

The Source Code Viewer is a dockable panel that can be toggled.

  • Toggle it: View ‣ Source Code… — F3

Note

There is also a “Show Source Code” check item in the File menu in some builds. If you can’t find the panel, use the View menu toggle and/or reset the UI layout.

The interface language or theme did not change

Some UI changes require a restart.

  1. Open Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2

  2. In the General tab, select:

    • Application Language

    • Color Theme (System / Light / Dark)

  3. Restart IconVectors.

Tip

If you want IconVectors to follow Windows light/dark mode, choose Use System Setting in Color Theme.

Editing and selection

I can’t select an element by clicking it

Try these fixes:

  • Select from the Layers panel (useful for very small objects or stacked elements)

    • Toggle the panel: View ‣ Layers Panel — F7

  • Change the selection method

    1. Open Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2

    2. Go to the Icon Editor tab

    3. In Element selection by, choose:

      • Wireframe (outline proximity) — easier for thin strokes/outlines

      • Visible pixels (fill and/or stroke) — selects what you actually see

Tip

If multiple objects overlap, use the Layers panel to pick the exact element, then temporarily hide other layers/elements from the layer list if needed.

Elements “jump” when I move them

This is usually caused by Snap to Grid.

  • Toggle snapping: View ‣ Snap to Grid — Shift+Ctrl+R

  • Toggle grid visibility: View ‣ Grid — G

Note

Even if the grid is hidden, snap-to-grid can still be enabled.

The grid is hard to see

  1. Make sure the grid is enabled:

    • View ‣ Grid — G

  2. If the grid is behind the artwork, change the grid drawing mode:

    • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → Icon Editor tab

    • Toggle Show Grid In Back

My icon looks blurry (not pixel-perfect)

For pixel-perfect icons, make sure you are evaluating the icon correctly:

  • Use the Preview Panel in Pixel mode.

    • Toggle the panel: View ‣ Preview Panel — Ctrl+F8

    • In the Preview Panel toolbar, switch Pixel / Vector to Pixel

  • Enable Grid and Snap to Grid while drawing:

    • View ‣ Grid — G

    • View ‣ Snap to Grid — Shift+Ctrl+R

  • Prefer simple, aligned geometry (avoid accidental fractional coordinates when you need crisp edges).

Tip

When you need to “nudge” geometry precisely, use the arrow keys. (See the Selection Tool topic for pixel-step nudging.)

Tooltips are distracting or cover the artwork

Disable helper overlays:

  1. Open Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2

  2. Go to the Icon Editor tab

  3. Disable:

    • Show Mouse Tooltip

    • Show Drawing Help Tooltip

Keyboard shortcuts don’t seem to work

Common causes:

  • The focus is not in the editor canvas (click inside the canvas first).

  • A modal dialog is open (close the dialog).

  • Some toggles are single-key (for example G) and may not work while editing text fields.

As a quick test, try these common shortcuts:

  • Undo: Ctrl+Z

  • Save: Ctrl+S

  • Toggle grid: G

  • Toggle Preview Panel: Ctrl+F8

Documents, saving and recovery

I can’t save a file (or Save does nothing)

Try these checks:

  • Use Save As to write to a new location:

    • File ‣ Save As… — Shift+Ctrl+S

  • Make sure the destination folder is writable (avoid protected system folders).

  • If the SVG file is read-only, save under a different name.

Tip

If you are working on template/master SVG files, it is often safer to use Save As and keep the original unchanged.

Can I recover work after a crash?

IconVectors can write recovery information automatically.

  1. Configure recovery:

    • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → General tab

    • Set Automatically Save Recovery Every (seconds)

  2. After a crash, restart IconVectors.

Note

Auto-recovery is designed for crash recovery. It does not replace saving your work regularly. Use File ‣ Save (Ctrl+S) often.

Importing and opening files

An SVG file won’t open or crashes IconVectors

Although SVG compatibility is broad, some files created by other tools can contain constructs that are difficult to import (complex filters, heavy masks/clips, unusual metadata, etc.).

Try the following workflow:

  1. Update IconVectors:

    • Help ‣ Check For Updates…

  2. Try opening in a new window (isolates document state):

    • File ‣ Open in a New Window… — Shift+Ctrl+O

  3. Re-save the SVG from the source tool using a simpler SVG profile (examples: “Plain SVG”, “Optimize”, “Convert text to paths”, “Outline strokes”).

  4. If the SVG is huge/complex, simplify it in IconVectors after import:

    • Select paths → Path ‣ Simplify Path…

Tip

If a file repeatedly crashes IconVectors, include it when you report the bug. IconVectors 1.10 improved SVG compatibility and stability, but edge cases can still exist.

The SVG opens, but looks wrong

Typical fixes depend on the issue:

  • Strokes look different than expected

    • Convert strokes to filled shapes:

      • Path ‣ Outline Stroke — Ctrl+J

  • Shapes can’t be edited with nodes

    • Convert to path:

      • Path ‣ Convert to Path — Ctrl+B

  • Transforms/scale feel odd

    • Select the element/group and use:

      • Element ‣ Scale… — Ctrl+E

      • Element ‣ Move… — Ctrl+M

Placed SVG artwork is off-canvas or scaled unexpectedly

When you place SVG files:

  • A group is created for each file.

  • The artwork is automatically scaled to the current document size.

If it seems “missing”:

  1. Center the canvas:

    • View ‣ Center Canvas — Alt+C

  2. Select the placed group in the Layers panel and center it:

    • Center horizontally: Element ‣ Center ‣ Center Horizontally — Ctrl+Alt+X

    • Center vertically: Element ‣ Center ‣ Center Vertically — Shift+Alt+X

    • Center both: Element ‣ Center ‣ Center Both — Alt+X

  3. If the document size is not what you expect, resize it first, then place again:

    • Icon ‣ Resize Icon… — Ctrl+Y

    • Icon ‣ Resize Canvas… — Shift+Ctrl+Y

See also: Place Files.

Drag & drop import doesn’t work

First, verify the file type:

  • SVG drag & drop performs Place Files.

  • Bitmap drag & drop performs Place & Trace Bitmap.

If drag & drop does nothing:

  • Make sure you are dropping the files onto the editor workspace/canvas.

  • If IconVectors is running as Administrator, Windows may block drag & drop from a normal File Explorer window. Try running IconVectors normally (not elevated) or launch File Explorer with the same elevation level.

Bitmap tracing

Tracing produces messy or unpredictable results

The Trace Bitmap feature is designed for monochrome images (black/white, single color).

To improve the result:

  • Use a high-resolution source image.

  • Use clean, high-contrast artwork (remove noise if needed).

  • Avoid multi-color images.

After tracing, you can often reduce point count with:

  • Path ‣ Simplify Path…

See also: Place & Trace Bitmap.

The trace result has too many points

This is normal when tracing high-resolution images with lots of pixel noise.

  • Run Path ‣ Simplify Path… on the traced path.

  • Use a cleaner bitmap input (solid shapes, no dithering/noise).

Paths and shape operations

I can’t edit a shape with the Path Edition Tool

The Path Edition Tool only edits path elements.

Convert the element first:

  • Path ‣ Convert to Path — Ctrl+B

Boolean operations produce unexpected results

If Union/Substract/Intersect/Exclude gives an odd result, try:

  1. Convert involved shapes to paths:

    • Path ‣ Convert to Path — Ctrl+B

  2. Make sure the shapes actually overlap.

  3. Check stacking order (especially for subtraction-like operations):

    • Bring to top: Element ‣ Bring to Top — Ctrl+Home

    • Send to bottom: Element ‣ Send to Bottom — Ctrl+End

  4. If your shape should have “holes”, consider compound paths:

    • Path ‣ Make Compound Path — Ctrl+Q

    • Path ‣ Release Compound Path — Shift+Ctrl+Q

Note

Many boolean issues come from self-intersecting paths or extremely complex geometry. Simplifying paths can help.

Exporting and developer output

Bitmap export is the wrong size (or looks blurry)

Remember:

  • Export size is based on the icon/canvas size, not on zoom level.

  • The Preview Panel Scale is only display scaling.

To control the actual output size:

  • Resize icon: Icon ‣ Resize Icon… — Ctrl+Y

  • Resize canvas: Icon ‣ Resize Canvas… — Shift+Ctrl+Y

Then export:

  • File ‣ Export to Bitmap… — Ctrl+F3

  • File ‣ Export to Multiple Bitmaps… — Shift+Ctrl+F3

Exported bitmap has an unexpected background

  • The checkerboard background is only a transparency indicator.

  • The Preview Panel light/dark background is only for preview.

For transparent export, use a format that supports alpha (such as PNG).

You can also verify transparency by toggling:

  • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → Icon Editor tab → Draw Transparency As Checkerboard

Minified SVG looks distorted

If minified SVG output looks slightly “off”, the numeric precision may be too low.

Increase the Minified Code / Decimals setting:

  • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2

  • SVG Code tab → Minified Code → Decimals

You can also increase Decimals for standard (non-minified) SVG.

The Source Code Viewer doesn’t update

  • Make sure the panel is enabled: View ‣ Source Code… — F3

  • If it was hidden/undocked, reset the UI: View ‣ Restore UI Default Positions

Tip

If you need compact code for embedding, use:

  • Copy Minified: Edit ‣ Copy Minified — Shift+Ctrl+C

  • Export Minified: File ‣ Export Minified… — Shift+Ctrl+M

Performance

The editor feels slow or less responsive

If the UI feels heavy, try reducing on-screen helpers (especially on very complex icons):

  • Hide the Preview Panel if you don’t need it constantly:

    • View ‣ Preview Panel — Ctrl+F8

  • Disable helper tooltips:

    • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → Icon Editor tab

    • Disable Show Mouse Tooltip and Show Drawing Help Tooltip

  • If the checkerboard makes the display busy, disable it:

    • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → Icon Editor tab

    • Disable Draw Transparency As Checkerboard

  • Ensure you are on the latest version:

    • Help ‣ Check For Updates…

Updates, activation and internet

Update check or activation fails behind a proxy

If your network requires an authenticated proxy:

  1. Open Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2

  2. Go to the Internet tab

  3. Enable Use Proxy with Authentication

  4. Enter Username and Password

Then try again:

  • Help ‣ Check For Updates…

  • Help ‣ Sign In and Activate Axialis IconVectors…

Auto-update is not desired in controlled environments

Disable automatic update checks:

  • Edit ‣ Preferences… — F2 → Auto-Update tab

  • Toggle Automatically Update Axialis IconVectors

You can still run updates manually with Help ‣ Check For Updates….

Getting support

How to report a bug effectively

Use:

  • Help ‣ Suggest Features, Report Bugs…

Include the following:

  • IconVectors version (Help ‣ About Axialis IconVectors…)

  • Windows version

  • Exact steps to reproduce

  • The SVG/bitmap file (if possible)

  • Whether it happens with all documents or only a specific file

  • Screenshots (and, if relevant, a short screen recording)

Tip

If the issue relates to selection, include your current selection mode setting: Edit ‣ Preferences… → Icon Editor tab → Element selection by.