Are there any work-arounds for WMS width and height limit when printing?

Question

I get the following error when trying to export in QGIS to PDF: "Some WMS servers (e.g. UMN mapserver) have a limit for the WIDTH and HEIGHT parameter. Printing layers from such servers may exceed this limit. If this is the case, the WMS layer will not be printed"

I am utilizing an WMS for my aerial imagery in the map and can't export it to a PDF or image. Does anyone know what is going on and whether there is a fix or work around?

Thanks, Mickey

Answer 1

Just as underdark said, this depends on the WMS server setting, there is nothing you can do to change that.

One thing you can try is to reduce the resolution of your map within the composer (e.g. from 300 dpi to 150 dpi, so fewer pixels will be requested). This will of course lead to a lower quality map, but has worked for me in the past with German state department WMS services.

Another rather low-tech work around I also used in the past was to open the WMS layer in QGIS, zoom to an acceptable detail level/resolution, and use "save as image" to save the current content of the main view as a georeferenced jpeg or tiff. Then you scroll on a bit and continue the process for the whole area you need covered.

Now you can close the WMS layer, add the "mosaic" of locally saved screenshots (which should line up nicely) and continue to print the map as usual without any error messages.