How to download your visualization as a PDF

In this article, we'll explain how to download your chart, map, or table as a PDF, e.g. to print it or to embed it in a presentation. All our PDFs are completely vector-based and can be edited in vector graphics software like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.

PDF export is a feature available for users with Custom plan and Enterprise plan. For more details, visit our pricing page.

You can download your visualization as a PDF if your organization has a Custom or Enterprise account at Datawrapper.

Note that PDF is a vector-based image format, not a raster-based one: A chart saved as PDF can be zoomed in and scaled up indefinitely without becoming pixelated. That said, PDFs can't be inserted well in content management systems (CMS). If this is your use case, export your chart as a PNG instead. You can learn how to do so here.

How to choose the PDF export

To choose the PDF export, go to step 4: Publish & Embed. Click on the button that says "PDF", and you'll see options appearing below it.

Basic options when downloading your chart as a PDF

When you click on the PDF button, you'll see three settings, plus three advanced ones.

The width and height of your format are pre-filled with the width and height of your chart as you've defined in step 3: Visualize. Type in new numbers in the Format text fields in your chosen Units (inch, mm, pixel) to change the size of your PDF. Doing so allows you to also define the ratio (e.g. when typing in 500px x 1000px instead of 1000px x 1000px). You can also enter very high numbers like 4000 x 50000 px – something you wouldn't be able to display in step 3.

Finally, with the Include setting, you can decide if you want to download your chart with title, description, source, and byline (Full header and footer) or without (Just chart).

Advanced options when downloading your chart as a PDF

Once you click on Show advanced options, you have three more options.First, the Color mode. Here you have the choice between RGB (meaning "red, green, blue") or CYMK (meaning "cyan, yellow, magenta, black"). CMYK is print colors, while RGB is for everything digital. If you want to print your chart eventually (e.g. in a magazine), use CMYK. If you want to show your chart in a report or presentation that people can download on the web, use RGB.

You can also use the Scale factor in the advanced options. It's a useful setting if you need to download the same charts multiple times in different scales and don't want to do the math in your head. On the right side, you can always see the final size/ratio of your PDF as you will download it.

Note that the text elements in your chart – e.g. title, description, notes, source or annotation – don't get bigger when you increase the scale. That means that Format and Scale factor let you also define how big/small you want your text elements to be in comparison with other chart elements.

And you can decide if you want to have ligatures turned on. Ligatures are two letters that are merged into one glyph (e.g. a and e into the french æ).

Once you're done, click the Download PDF button. Depending on the final size of your chart, generating the PDF might take some time on our end. You'll see a loading circle indicating that.

And that's it! You'll find your downloaded PDF in your "Downloads" folder.

Optional: Export presets

If you often export your visualizations in specific settings (width, export unit), you can add them to a list of export presets as a dropdown menu. When you select a preset, Datawrapper will auto-fill the rest of the export settings so you won't have to enter them every time. To add this option, contact us at support@datawrapper.de and we'll configure it for you.