How to download a word cloud as PNG, JPEG or SVG

When the cloud looks right, WordCloud+ can save it as a PNG, JPEG or SVG file. Exporting needs an account: the guest preview on Create a word cloud shows "Sign up to export and remove the watermark." instead of a download button, so choose Unlock editing first. A free account can export as often as it likes; free files carry a watermark, described below.

Download your word cloud

1. Open the project on the Cloud tab.
2. Select the download button at the end of the toolbar above the cloud. A panel titled Download opens.
3. Choose PNG, JPEG or SVG from the format list.
4. Select the button underneath, which reads Download PNG, Download JPEG or Download SVG to match. Your browser saves the file under the project's name, for example "Staff survey.png".

The export is the cloud as you see it in the editor, including your colours, fonts, fixed word positions and title, drawn at the size set under Dimensions.

Which format to choose

• PNG is the best default for slides, documents and web pages. Text stays crisp and colours are exact.
• JPEG suits tools that only accept JPG files. WordCloud+ saves it at the highest quality setting, but JPEG compression can still soften the edges of small words slightly.
• SVG is a vector file, so it stays sharp at any size and each word remains editable in programs such as Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma. The words are kept as real text that names its font, so the program you open it in needs that font installed to show it as designed; otherwise it substitutes another. Most of the fonts in WordCloud+ are free Google Fonts; Arial, Brush Script MT, Courier New, Georgia, Tahoma and Times New Roman are system fonts. The SVG names the font as WordCloud+ stores it (Times New Roman, for example, appears as "times"), so you may need to reassign the font in your editor.

In PNG and JPEG files the words are converted to shapes before the image is drawn, so they always look the same wherever the file is opened.

Set the size and resolution

The dimensions button in the toolbar opens Dimensions, with Width and Height in pixels. The smallest size is 240 × 240 and the largest is 3840 × 2160. PNG and JPEG files are exported at exactly that pixel size and tagged as 300 DPI, so at the maximum width a print is 12.8 inches (about 32.5 cm) wide at full sharpness. For a full-screen widescreen slide, 1920 × 1080 is a good choice.

Projects made with the New Project form start at your default size, which is 1280 × 720 unless you have changed it. After changing the size, check the layout, and use the zoom button in the toolbar (Zoom, or switch on Auto zoom) if the words no longer fill the frame.

Transparent backgrounds

WordCloud+ does not have a transparent background option. Every export includes a solid rectangle in the Background colour chosen under Colors in the toolbar. You have two ways round it:

• Set the Background colour to match wherever the cloud is going, such as white for a document or your slide's background colour.
• Download an SVG, open it in a vector editor, delete the full-size rectangle behind the words, and save or export it from there as a PNG with transparency.

The watermark and how to remove it

Downloads on the free plan have a faint watermark repeated diagonally across the whole image, reading "https://wordcloudplus.com - Not for commercial use". The free plan is not for commercial use. There are two ways to get clean files, both offered in the Download panel:

• Premium costs $7.00 a month after a 30-day free trial. Every download from every project is watermark-free, including during the trial, and Premium also adds coding and CloudSync. Choose Upgrade to Premium in the panel, or see the pricing section.
• A one-off purchase of $3.50 removes the watermark from one project, with no subscription. Choose $3.50 for a one-off in the panel and complete the checkout.

After a one-off purchase goes through, that project's text is locked: the Edit button on the Text tab reads Locked and the source text can no longer be changed. You can still restyle the cloud and download it again, in any format, without a watermark. So finish editing the text before you buy.

Export the numbers behind the cloud

If you need the data rather than the picture, open the Summary tab and select Download. You get a CSV file listing every term with its score and number of occurrences, ready for a spreadsheet. This is available on the free plan and has no watermark.

Before you export

A cloud is easier to read once the noise is gone. Take out filler words with stop words, and check that important ideas show up as phrases rather than scattered single words; Word clouds with phrases, not just single words explains how. Then create your word cloud and download it in the format you need.