4 Replies Latest reply on May 24, 2018 12:25 PM by Michael Cope

    Can we print a high resolution map ?

    Chadi Atie
    Chadi Atie Nov 14, 2017 7:53 AM

      Hello guys,

       

      The question says it all, I need to print the map I did in Tableau Desktop in a high resolution.

       

      I tried 3 methods:

      1- To make a screenshot

      2- To export as image

      3- To print as a PDF and get it as a PDF file

       

      Unfortunately, the 3 methods didn't work with me because I am still getting low resolution images comparing to the resolution we have inside Tableau.

       

      Is it possible to do it? And how?

       

      Thanks a lot!

      Cheers,

       

      Chadi

        • 1. Re: Can we print a high resolution map ?
          Jay Morehart
          Jay Morehart Nov 14, 2017 12:20 PM (in response to Chadi Atie)

          what do you mean by low resolution? PDF and images can have some issues when they are generated, but screenshots should always match the resolution of your system (and in my experience, screenshots exactly match what I see on my screen)

           

          Do you mean that when you zoom in and out on tableau the image looks better? If so, this is because, tableau is actively rendering the new image at that zoom level, you cannot recreate that in a static file.

           

          Hope this helps

          1 of 1 people found this helpful
          • 2. Re: Can we print a high resolution map ?
            Chadi Atie
            Chadi Atie Nov 15, 2017 1:06 AM (in response to Jay Morehart)

            Hello Jay,

             

            Yep exactly, I need to zoom in and see the little details in the map, just like when I zoom in in Tableau.

             

            Is this possible?

             

            Thanks

            Chadi

            • 3. Re: Can we print a high resolution map ?
              Jay Morehart
              Jay Morehart Nov 15, 2017 7:27 AM (in response to Chadi Atie)

              Again, not easily with a static file. When you zoom in on a map in Tableau (or really any other mapping software), you are not zooming in on an image, rather, you are telling the program, "I want the area from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2)" and then the program builds that image and displays it.

               

              How big of an area are you trying to map? To get a static file that would let you zoom in just to a U.S. state would be need to have dimensions of around 5ft by 4ft to cover the lower 48 states, to zoom in to a city: 54ft x 38ft. It is likely possible to generate single files like this with GIS softtware (QGIS is free/open source),though the latter file would likely be too large to load and use. Within Tableau there is not a way to do this; however, you could export a packaged workbook, and then anyone can open and interact with it using the free Tableau reader (I am assuming the reason you need a pdf/image is for distribution and not for printing (based on the zoom in comment)). if you do need to print the map, I think your best bet is going to be a mapping/gis software like QGIS

               

              Hope this helps

              1 of 1 people found this helpful
              • 4. Re: Can we print a high resolution map ?
                Michael Cope
                Michael Cope May 24, 2018 12:25 PM (in response to Chadi Atie)

                Hello,

                 

                I recently discovered a neat and fairly convenient method to creating print quality images of Tableau .EMF files.  Unfortunately, it requires ArcMap (part of ArcGIS).  However, you can simply export your Tableau image as a .EMF file, and then insert the .EMF file into ArcMap layout view as a picture.  ArcMap provides full control over the re-sizing, resolution, and output file formats using .EMF files.  It's obviously not a perfect solution (Tableau should address the need for print-quality images), and you will have to experiment, but I have made several 600+ dpi images that look fantastic in print.