Export workflow: style → save view → export → PowerPoint

Export Tab

The Export tab is where your work becomes output. This is the final step in the pitchmappr workflow: you've added locations, styled the map, and saved views. Now you export images and files that can be dropped into presentations, documents, or design tools.

The tab offers four export methods: Quick Export (immediate screenshot of the current view), Export Views (batch export from saved views with precise crop framing), Change Projection (d3-geo reprojection for non-Mercator map styles), and JSON (project file save/load). A related feature — the Legend (its own panel in the rail, between Markers and Views) — builds a legend you export as a separate image and drop into your deck; it's documented in Legend below.

Quick Export

Quick Export captures whatever is currently visible on your map and downloads it immediately. It does not use saved views or crop ratios — it exports the full visible canvas. Pick a format at the top, set any options, then press the Export button.

Feature	Control	Description
Format (PNG · Hi-Res · SVG)	Segmented picker	New layout in v0.9.95. Choose the output format, then press the Export button below — it relabels to match ("Export PNG" / "Export Hi-Res" / "Export SVG"). PNG is a standard-resolution image at your screen's density: fine on screen, but it can look soft when printed large. Hi-Res re-renders at up to 4× density for print-quality output (2–5 seconds; 4× is a ceiling — it steps down automatically if your browser or GPU can't allocate a canvas that large). SVG is a true vector — resolution-independent paths for regions, boundaries, labels, data shading, radius rings and markers — and appears only in Focus+, where the map is already vector; regular and Focus modes offer PNG and Hi-Res only. (A base map shown through Focus+ is raster, so it's the one thing an SVG leaves out.) The downloaded filename uses your Project ID (if set) or Project Name, followed by a timestamp — for example `PRJ-2026-042_20260710_1430.png`.
Transparent background	Toggle (Focus & Focus+ modes)	Exports a PNG with a transparent background instead of the map's earth/background colour. Not offered in regular mode (the basemap is fully coloured, so transparent would just strip ground content). In Focus mode, "transparent" means "outside the focused country" — a country-shaped clip for any slide background. Since v0.9.93 it also works in Focus+ (transparent = outside your selected regions); there it's mutually exclusive with "show base map through" — with the base map showing it is the background, so the toggle is hidden; with it off, transparent is available. Default is OFF.
Marker & label size	Slider (0.5×–3.0×, default 1.0×)	New in v0.9.71. Boosts the size of your markers and marker labels in the exported PNG. Live preview — drag the slider and the markers and labels on the live map resize in real time, so you can see what your export will look like before downloading. Useful when you plan to drop a high-resolution PNG onto a slide and shrink it down: the markers stay readable at the final display size instead of becoming tiny specks. Affects both Quick Export and Export Views. Setting persists with your project.
Scale bar	Toggle (Include on export)	New in v0.9.94. Draws a distance scale bar into the bottom-left corner of the exported PNG/Hi-Res image — a nice-round distance (e.g. "100 mi") with a fitted bar, matching the live scale bar in the status strip. Available on the regular and Focus tile map, where the map scale is roughly uniform; it is deliberately not offered on the Focus+ projection export, where scale varies across the frame and a single bar would mislead. Default is OFF.
Legend	Toggle (Include on export, shown once a legend is built)	New in v0.9.83. When you've turned on a legend in the Legend panel, this also saves the legend as its own separate image file alongside the map every time you export. The legend is never drawn onto the map itself — it's always its own file. See Legend below. Default OFF.
Footer	Toggle (Include on export)	Stamps a small caption along one edge of the exported image — by default your project name, your name, and today's date. When it's on, pick the corner (Position) and optionally set custom text; leave the text blank to auto-generate. (Labeled "Watermark" before v0.9.95.) Default OFF.

Export Views

Export Views produces precisely framed images from your saved views. Unlike Quick Export, these outputs are cropped to the exact aspect ratio defined by each view, producing consistent, repeatable results every time.

Feature	Control	Description
Transparent background	Checkbox (Focus & Focus+)	Shared with Quick Export — the same checkbox and effect, available in Focus and Focus+ modes.
Per-view PNG	Button	Exports a saved view as a cropped PNG image at the view's saved zoom, center, and crop ratio. The image is precisely framed according to the view's aspect ratio, producing output that matches the crop preview overlay exactly. This means every export of the same view produces identical framing.
Per-view Hi-Res PNG	Button	Same as per-view PNG but at up to 4x higher pixel density. Produces a larger, sharper image suitable for print. Same precision framing as standard PNG.

Change Projection

The d3-geo projection system renders maps using cartographic projections other than the standard Mercator (which is what the interactive MapLibre map uses). Projections like Albers Equal Area distort shapes to preserve area accuracy, making them standard in US government maps and many finance presentations.

This system is completely independent from the MapLibre base map. It renders a separate map using D3's projection algorithms with its own geometry (from Natural Earth data), styling, and export pipeline. A small preview canvas in the sidebar shows what the projection output will look like.

Feature	Control	Description
Enable	Checkbox (master)	Master toggle for the entire projection export system. When enabled, all projection configuration controls appear below. When disabled, the projection system is dormant and has no effect on the rest of the application.
Projection	Dropdown	Selects the cartographic projection algorithm. Each projection has different mathematical properties for how it represents the 3D earth on a 2D surface. Options include: Albers USA (the standard US map projection with built-in Alaska/Hawaii insets — the most common choice for US-focused maps), Albers (conic equal-area, good for mid-latitude countries), Conic Equal Area, Lambert Conformal (preserves angles, used in aviation charts), Equirectangular (simple plate carrée, no distortion at equator), Natural Earth (rounded world view with balanced distortion), Mercator (standard web map projection), Equal Earth (modern equal-area world projection), and Orthographic (globe/sphere view).
Region preset	Dropdown	Selects a pre-configured center point and scale for common geographic regions: CONUS (contiguous US), North America, Europe, Asia, World. Selecting a preset automatically fills in the center longitude, latitude, and scale values below. Select Custom to set values manually. Presets save time by providing good starting parameters for common map regions.
Center longitude	Slider (-180 to 180)	Sets the center meridian (east-west position) of the projection. The map is centered on this longitude. Adjusting this automatically switches the region preset to "Custom". For US maps, -96 is typical; for Europe, around 10; for Asia, around 100.
Center latitude	Slider (-90 to 90)	Sets the center parallel (north-south position) of the projection. Works with longitude to define the projection's focal point. For US maps, 38 is typical; for Europe, around 50; for global maps, 0 (the equator).
Scale	Slider (50–3000)	Controls the zoom/magnification of the projection. Higher values zoom in closer to the center point; lower values show more area. The appropriate scale depends heavily on the projection type and the geographic region you're showing.
Fit to markers	Button	Automatically computes the optimal center longitude, latitude, and scale to fit your marker locations into the projection view with appropriate padding. Only locations in visible datasets count toward the bounding box — anything in a hidden dataset is ignored, and if nothing is visible the button does nothing but warn you. This is the quickest way to get a good starting view that includes all your data.
Land color	Color picker	Sets the fill color for all land masses in the projection export. Default is light grey (#F0F0F0). This is independent from the base map's earth color — the projection system renders its own geometry.
Border color	Color picker	Sets the stroke color for country border lines in the projection. Default is medium grey (#AAAAAA).
State color	Color picker	Sets the fill color for US state polygons (when state borders are enabled). Default is light grey (#CCCCCC). Provides visual distinction between states.
Water color	Color picker	Sets the fill color for lakes in the projection. Default is white (#FFFFFF). Setting this to a blue creates a more traditional cartographic look. Note that it does not fill the ocean — the projection export leaves the ocean transparent, so whatever is behind the image shows through.
State borders	Checkbox	Toggles US state boundary lines in the projection export. Default is ON. State borders help identify which state each marker is in. Disable for cleaner international maps where US states aren't relevant.
Country borders	Checkbox	Toggles international country boundary lines. Default is ON. Essential for geographic context in most maps.
State labels	Checkbox	Toggles US state abbreviation labels (e.g. "NY", "CA") placed at each state's geographic centroid. Default is OFF. Adds text labels to help viewers identify states without needing to recognize their shapes. Only renders for US states.
Border width	Slider (0.1–3.0)	Controls the stroke width of all boundary lines (both country and state borders). Default is 0.5. Higher values create more prominent borders; lower values create subtle, thin lines.
Output size	Dropdown	Selects the pixel dimensions for the exported projection image. Options: 1920x1080 (Full HD 16:9), 2560x1440 (QHD 16:9), 3840x2160 (4K 16:9), 1280x960 (Standard 4:3), 1920x1440 (HD 4:3). Larger sizes provide more detail and sharper output but create bigger files. 1920x1080 is sufficient for most presentation slides.
Export PNG	Button	Renders and downloads the projection map as a PNG image at the selected output size. Your location markers and labels are rendered on top of the D3 projection geometry. Background is transparent by default.

Legend

The Legend panel — its own tab in the left rail, between Markers and Views — builds a legend from your map and exports it as its own image file, separate from the map. Because it's a standalone file (never drawn onto the map), you place it wherever you like on your slide, and it looks the same whichever map mode you're in.

Turn on Show a legend to start. pitchmappr builds the rows for you from what's on the map — your HQ marker first, then each visible dataset, then the focused region, then any active data-shading colour scale — using your real marker shapes and colours.

Feature	Control	Description
Show a legend	Checkbox (master)	Turns the legend on. Until it's on, the rest of the panel is hidden and there's nothing to export.
Title	Text field	An optional heading shown at the top of the legend (e.g. "Stores & market"). Leave it blank for no title.
Show dataset totals	Checkbox	Appends each dataset's location count to its label — "Retail stores (128)". Default OFF.
Entries	Editor rows	One row per legend entry, each with a drag handle, a swatch, a rename field, and a show/hide eye. Rename overrides the label in the legend only (your dataset name is unchanged). The eye hides an entry from the legend while leaving its markers on the map. Drag the handle to reorder entries; the order is saved with your project.
Legend size / Text / Marker	Sliders	Scale the whole legend (50–200%), the text size, and the swatch size independently.
Style	Choice (4)	Four looks for the legend: Card (the default — a rounded white "deck card" with a bold title and square colour chips for datasets; star datasets keep their star so an HQ stays recognisable), Framed (a square white card with a navy title bar), Transparent (no card, so the legend sits directly on whatever you place it over — turn on Text & marker halo to keep it readable over busy or dark backgrounds), and Strip (a compact horizontal row instead of the usual stacked list).
Border	Checkbox + colour + width	Draws a border around the legend. Default ON, a thin dark line.
Text & marker halo	Checkbox	Adds a white outline behind the text and swatches so a transparent legend stays legible over anything. Default OFF.
PNG / SVG	Choice	The file type for Export legend. PNG is a ready-to-place image; SVG is a crisp, editable vector you can restyle in a design tool.
Export legend	Button	Downloads the legend as its own file, cropped tight to its content, in the style you set. Save it transparent to overlay it on any background.

The data colour scale row (when a data layer is active) renders in your choice of four styles — Classed bands (the default: one joined colour bar with the minimum, middle and maximum values labelled beneath it), Classed + counts (one row per band with its value range and area count — this is also where each band's range text is editable in the entries editor), Gradient + axis, or Compact — picked in the Legend panel.

When a data layer feeds the legend, a small source line ("© Esri / US Census · EIA") appears at the bottom, composed automatically from the active layers' data providers. It's controlled by the Source line toggle in the Legend panel (on by default); a legend showing only your own markers never carries one. The map's own © attribution stays on the map footer as before.

JSON

The JSON section handles project files for portability. A pitchmappr project can be written to a .json file that contains everything needed to reconstruct it: all settings, datasets, locations, saved views, theme selections, and Focus Mode configuration. In the signed-in app your work already auto-saves to your account, so JSON is for moving a project or keeping an offline copy — it's the primary save mechanism only in the standalone map tool.

Feature	Control	Description
Export JSON	Button	Downloads the entire project as a .json file — the complete project state, re-importable later to restore everything exactly. The filename uses your Job Number or Project Name. Available in the standalone map tool; in the signed-in app it's disabled, because your work already auto-saves to your account.
Import JSON	Button → file picker modal	Opens a file picker to upload a previously exported .json project file. Importing restores the entire project state — all locations, datasets, views, settings, and theme selections are replaced with the file's contents. The current project is completely overwritten, so make sure you've exported any unsaved work before importing. A confirmation dialog appears before the import proceeds.

Views Theme System