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How to adjust DPI (dots per inch) settings in SPSS graphs

Question & Answer


Question

I am using SPSS and producing graphs, I would like to know if there is a way to change the resolution of my charts to a specific Dots Per Inch (DPI) setting?

Answer

Unfortunately, SPSS does not currently have this formatting capability. SPSS Development has been notified of this issue. We hope to see this feature included in an upcoming release of SPSS.

In the meantime, we suggest exporting the chart as an image to edit in a separate application. An uncompressed image format such as TIFF or EPS work best.

Our DPI for images is the same as the current screen DPI. It is possible to scale an image larger either through the Chart Builder Options dialog, the Chart Editor, or in the Viewer Export dialog. Then, in order to scale it down to size but keep the DPI you will need to edit it in an image processing application (such as PhotoShop) that supports a DPI value that is not the same as the current screen resolution.

Example:
Let's say you have an image that you have at 100x100 pixels in screen size you desire to be 600 DPI. At 120 DPI, this makes an image that is physically 0.83 inches in width and height. Export the image 5 times larger (600/120=5), or 500% of the normal size (so it is now 500x500 pixels). Import the image into PhotoShop. In PhotoShop, maintain the resolution while scaling the image down to 0.83 inches.

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Historical Number

65138

Document Information

Modified date:
16 April 2020

UID

swg21476651