Poor Map Quality on Browser

Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had trouble with the quality of maps on the browser? When viewing the maps (Both Atlas and Orion Maps) the quality is fuzzy with the browser at 100% resolution, but perfect quality at 80%. The only things on the maps are just nodes, text and template shapes (no imported images or anything complex). I have tried zooming the maps in and out, changing the pixel height, but the only thing making it full quality is the browser zoom out. Is there any way of fixing this?

Version: 2025.1.1

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stuartd

With Network Atlas we have to reduce the 'zoom' to allow us to see some of our maps but the quality has always been ok even when zooming in using the browser controls.

In contrast, I've not seen a quality issue with Orion Maps except when the map is associated to a 'group' [so we have 1000's of maps and all are individually associated directly to their group]. However, I do believe that is intentional as if you click on 'view mode' top right of the map widget then I can zoom in/out to my hearts content and other than size it is more than acceptable quality.

Maybe the SW version you are running, as you didn't mention that?

grac326

Hi Stuart, thank you for your reply, I am on version 2025.1.1. Even my maps with no associated groups are fuzzy, with the zoom function not changing the quality unfortunately

stuartd

Hmm, odd. I'd definitely open a ticket with support.

rcbarr

I need to check this, thanks for the question....

ronan.tonilon

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Please try this first in a lab environment, before implementing to your production.

What you're experiencing is a known rendering issue with Orion Maps (and sometimes Atlas exports) in certain browser environments, especially at 100% browser zoom. Others have reported this across various SolarWinds versions including 2025.1.1.

The Orion Maps rendering engine (and parts of Atlas if exported to the web) uses SVG and canvas-based drawing. When combined with:

Browser scaling
High-DPI monitors (4K, Retina)
Windows display scaling (e.g., 125% or 150%)

…it may result in blurry or "soft" rendering at normal zoom (100%), but appear crisp at 80% or 90% due to how SVGs are scaled differently by the browser.

Possible Fixes & Workarounds

1. Set Browser Zoom to 90% or 80% (what you're doing)

Not ideal, but it's a common workaround until SolarWinds updates the rendering engine

2. Set Windows Display Scaling to 100%

On your PC:
Display settings → Scale → Set to 100%
This forces Windows and the browser to use native scaling and can help fix fuzzy SVG rendering

3. Use a Different Browser

Try opening Orion Maps in:

Firefox (tends to handle SVG maps better)
Edge Chromium (generally better than Chrome for canvas rendering)

4. Force Higher Rendering Quality (Advanced Option)

If you're comfortable, in Chrome or Edge:

Go to chrome://flags
Enable: "Enable GPU rasterization" and "Use Skia renderer"
Relaunch browser
This can improve clarity on some systems (but is experimental).

Atlas-Specific Tips

If you're viewing Atlas-generated maps in web view, try:

Exporting maps as image (PNG) instead of embedding SVG
Increasing the map resolution (DPI) before exporting from Atlas
Avoid using thin lines or small fonts, as they blur first at scale

SolarWinds Roadmap Notes

SolarWinds is gradually modernizing the rendering engine for Orion Maps as part of its UI overhaul (started with 2024+ releases).
However, as of 2025.1.1, this issue is still intermittently observed.
There’s no user-side toggle to force pixel-perfect rendering yet.

Best Practice recommendation for now:

Setting	Recommended
Windows Display Scaling	100%
Browser Zoom	90% or 80% (if quality improves)
Browser	Firefox or Edge
Font Size in Maps	Larger text labels improve clarity
Monitor	Avoid using map dashboards on 4K with scaling >100%

Hope this helps.