1.182 FAQ-869 Why do lines in my graph export look jagged?

Last Update: 9/15/2025

If your data has high resolution

If your data has high resolution, e.g. 1E-5 or higher, your lines may appear jagged on the graph.

You will need to increase the resolution of your graph to accommodate the data. You can set a higher DPI resolution when configuring export options.

Or starting in 2025b, you can activate your graph and select Format: Change Page DPI.

Origin supports anti-aliasing features which make the lines in your graph smoother. However, in some cases, the anti-aliasing turns off during export.

If you export a 2D graph

If you export a 2D graph to a raster image type (JPG, PNG, PCX, BMP, PSD, GIF, TIFF, etc.)

The anti-aliasing status (on/off) of the exported graph is determined by whether you turn on anti-aliasing for the lines in the graph. For example, if you export a 2D graph to .TIFF image type and want the lines in it look smooth, enable anti-aliasing for the 2D graph in Origin (click the Enable/Disable Anti-Aliasing button

) and then export it.

If you export a 2D graph to a vector image type (WMF, EMF, DXF, EPS, etc.)

You will find that the quality of the exported graph are good enough even if anti-aliasing turns off. When anti-aliasing turns on, on the other hand, the image quality improves little but the size increases dramatically. So we turn off anti-aliasing when export vector types no matter you turn on it for the graph or not.

Notes:. You can also use the Set System Variables dialog to turn on anti-aliasing when export vector type. Choose Preferences: System Variables to open the dialog. Set EAA to 1.

If you export a 3D OpenGL graph

The anti-aliasing always turn on no matter you export the 3D graph to a raster or vector image type.

Keywords:anti alias, steps in line, jagged lines