Exporting v2 Charts

There are various options for creating hard or soft copies of your v2 charts:

The method you choose will depend on what sort of charts you want to save, and what you want to use the saved images for.

Note that from v2.1 onwards StrataBugs cannot create the WMF (Windows Meta File) format*. Microsoft have declared this format obsolete. PDF files (either exported or printed on standard page sizes) should be suitable for all applications. You can embed PDF files into Excel workbooks and Powerpoint presentations. Some software allows you to join separate PDF files into one 'Portfolio'. If you have any queries about image formats, please feel free to contact StrataData. (*Unless using the "legacy" charts module on Windows)

Vector vs Bitmap

Vector images can be scaled whilst retaining crisp lines and shapes. This is the best way to reproduce charts. If you have access to a vector image editing software package such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape, you can open vector-type files and edit paths and text. You can paste PDF files into recent versions of Microsoft Office.

A bitmap file is a map of pixels, which will appear grainy when enlarged. They are easy to view and paste into other software.

Printing using a vector print driver

This will create crisp vector files on standard page sizes, exactly as the charts appear on the screen. You will need to adjust the page size and margins to get the best fit, just as you would when you print to paper.

There are various free PDF print drivers available on the web.

Exporting vector images

This will create a crisp vector image on a page the same size as the chart. SVG and PDF files are both XML-based formats; PDF files are compressed and consequently produce a much smaller file. You can view SVG files in most internet browsers (such as Firefox), and you can open them for editing in some graphics packages (e.g. Inkscape). PDF files are not editable but are easier to view and transport.

Note: PDF files have a maximum height or width of 5m or 200". You will not be able to export charts that exceed this dimension, but it may still be possible using the above method of printing to a vector print driver, depending on the driver settings.

Note: As of January 2013 StrataBugs uses the open-source Batik graphics libraries to create SVG and PDF files. You may experience out-of-memory errors if you try to save a very large chart. Please contact StrataData if this is a persistent problem as it is possible to allocate more memory to StrataBugs on startup. Alternatively, you can make charts smaller by adjusting scale, or try printing to PDF using a vector print driver (see above).

Exporting bitmaps

The bitmap file size is limited by the java virtual memory. StrataBugs takes note of the chart dimensions and the amount available memory and creates a file at the highest resolution possible. Generally, a bitmap of a large chart will not be detailed enough to read the text; small charts (e.g. limited depth range with just a few panels) will be reproduced in high enough quality for convenient use in PowerPoint etc.

Note that you can also get higher resolution by increasing the amount of memory available to StrataBugs. From a command prompt, navigate the the StrataBugs-2 folder and use the command "java -Xmx512m -jar jsbugs2_0.jar".

You can also use the Windows Snip tool, or take a screenshot, for a similar effect.