QGIS 2.14.3: I'm having problems when exporting my map to jpg

Question

I am using QGIS 2.14.3 and I'm having problems when exporting my project to jpg (also when trying to export to pdf...). I have several shapefiles opened, they are basically polygons on a shapefile with the boundaries of South America and a hill shade (see pic1). I can see all the layers perfectly in my Print composer window, and I have no problems exporting to image, but the final jpg. (or pdf) file, just shows a half of the polygons layers (pic2). I'm using 50% transparency for the polygons. Can anyone help me with this?

ps: apparently this happens when exporting with a resolution of 300 dpi -or more- but no for lower resolutions! is that somehow possible?!

Answer 1

I regularly export maps at 600dpi, so what you can achieve will depend on a combination of your hardware, the complexity of your data and the settings in QGIS. To be honest, your map does not look very complex, so I am surprised you are having problems, unless you have a computer with only an on-board graphics chipset (ie.e no separate graphics card) and possibly limited memory and/or a 32 bit architecture.

Try checking the 'print as raster' box in the Export Settings of the Composition tab. This can sometimes solve memory problems for large/complex maps because it rasterizes everything before exporting, so instead of multiple layers of complex vector data with transparency, you have a single layer of raster data, where all the transparencies have been resolved.

You can also simultaneously try shutting everything down except QGIS, to free as much memory as possible. Also, if your machine supports it, ensure you are using a 64 bit version of QGIS (see here) as this will get past the 2GB memory limits of 32 bit architecture (which apply regardless of how much RAM you have).