Improving TIFF Export Workflow in ArcGIS Pro with Automatic Map Rotation

[ChrisRivero]

Hello Esri Community,

We're currently working on improving our ArcGIS Pro map production workflows and would love some feedback and best practices from the community.

As part of this effort, I’m enhancing an existing script called "Export2Tiff", which automates the export of scanned map pages from a Map Series in a layout to TIFF format. This script currently exports selected maps to PDF, then converts the PDFs to TIFFs.

At this time, the script does not include any automatic map rotation before export. We're now trying to incorporate that functionality so that each exported TIFF file is automatically rotated (e.g., 90° counterclockwise), eliminating the need for users to manually rotate maps after export.

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🎯Goal

Our objective is to:

• ✅Automatically rotate exported maps (TIFFs) to a consistent orientation

• ✅Ensure uniformity across all scanned map outputs

• ✅Streamline the workflow and reduce manual post-processing

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🔧Current Status of the Script

We have a working script that:

• Uses a map series to export selected map pages to PDF

• Converts those PDFs to TIFF format

• Saves the files to a shared network directory

However, it does not currently apply any map rotation prior to export.

We're exploring options for adding rotation to the process.

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:question_mark:What We're Looking For

We’d appreciate community input on the best way to handle this rotation step:

• 🧭 What’s the best practice for rotating maps during export in ArcGIS Pro using Python?

• 🔁Should we apply rotation to the map frame before export, or rotate the TIFF after it's created using something like arcpy.management.Rotate?

• :package:How can we implement rotation so it's fully automated when the script runs — without needing users to adjust anything manually?

• :warning:Are there any risks or performance issues with programmatically rotating layout elements (like the map frame)?

• 🧠 If you've implemented something similar, would you be willing to share how you handled it?

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🧪 Current Environment

• ArcGIS Pro 3.x

• Python 3.x (script tool integrated into ArcGIS Pro toolbox)

• The script already exports PDFs and converts them to TIFFs successfully

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 Thanks in Advance!

We’re hoping to improve this tool for our team and streamline the export process. If you’ve tackled something similar or have ideas for how to approach this rotation functionality, we’d love to hear from you!

Thanks again!

[MErikReedAugusta]

I think I'm missing something.  You already have a functional Map Series, but some items aren't rotated correctly?  Exactly what is being rotated, when is it (currently, in the manual process you're trying to automate) being rotated, and why?

I think this might help to see a mock-up of a "wrong" output and a "correct" output.

[ChrisRivero]

Thanks for the follow-up, and happy to clarify!

Yes, I have a working Map Series in ArcGIS Pro that exports selected pages to PDF, which are then converted to TIFF. The issue isn't with the content of the maps themselves—everything is exporting correctly in terms of data and layout—but the orientation of the final TIFFs isn’t right for our internal system.

In the manual process, after exporting the TIFFs, I have to open each one and rotate it 90° counterclockwise before it's submitted. This is required because our system expects the maps to be stored in that orientation in order to be accepted and eventually published for public view. If the orientation is off, the upload gets flagged and we have to redo it.

So to answer your question:

• What’s being rotated? Just the final exported TIFF image, not the map content itself.
• When is it being rotated? Currently, manually, after export.
• Why? To meet formatting/orientation requirements for internal submission and public-facing updates.

I tried using map_frame.rotation = -90 before export, but that ended up rotating the whole frame and misaligning the layout, so it’s not the right approach in this case. What I’m looking to do now is automate that final rotation step using PIL (Python Imaging Library), right after the export is complete.

Automating this would save me a lot of time and prevent human error—especially since we’re exporting batches of maps regularly.

I can definitely mock up a "wrong" vs "correct" example if that’s helpful. Let me know!