Map Series export to PDF fails if .tif element in layout

Question

When trying to export a map series to PDF (separate pages or as single PDF) the output file(s) is 4kb in size and unreadable by PDF readers.

This  is observed in 2.6.2 and 2.6.3

I found that by removing a .tif element (customer's logo)  from the layout, the export is successful.

1) Why? A bug?

2) Is there a preferred image format that should be used instead of .tif?

TomBole · Answer

You can search for known bugs here - https://support.esri.com/en/Search

Here are the results when the search term is "tiff in layout" - https://support.esri.com/en/Search-Results#search?q=tiff%20in%20layout&content-type=Bugs

Tom

ZacharyO · Answer

Removing the logo wasn't really a workaround as it was required for the deliverable...once I isolated the problem to the .tif element, I tested other formats and found that using a PNG version of the logo worked. So in my case at least for version 2.6.3, it seems that PNG is preferred over TIFF for picture elements in the layout.

Thanks for confirming that it's known! I struggle sometimes trying to verify if the issues are my own mistakes or software glitches and that eats into my efficiency.  Is there a publicly searchable place to browse through known bugs?

TomBole · Answer

Hi Zachary,

This is a known bug - BUG-000132706 inserting a TIFF into a report or layout results in incorrect behavior on export - that has been addressed for ArcGIS Pro 2.7. I'm not aware of any preferred image type.

Glad you found the workaround!

Tom