I second Remy' suggestion. Symbol Set 2 Bitmap A style is the most photo-realistic we have and would suit such a project probably best.

I strongly suspect that the added picture frame distorts the height to width ratio and the export then crops any white space resulting in the image size you see. Try turning off "Crop image to aspect ratio" in the export settings and you'll probably see some white space in the export.

You can always post the map here, so we can take a look, or submit a tech support request.

Yeah, the origin of the symbol (i.e. the point it will snap to) will normally be in the center or on the edge of the whole BITMAP (depending on how it was imported).

But since the bitmap is irregular and will probably have various transparent bits around the edges, this will not automatically align with something the user sees as the center of the symbol (e.g. in this example, the center of the statue's circular plinth or the center of the figure).

To change the insertion point of a symbol do the following:

• Go to Symbol > Symbol Manager and EDIT the symbol you want to change.
• Use View > Move Origin to place the origin at the location you want the insertion point to be.
• Close and save the symbol editing window.

If you want to change the sheet a symbol goes to automatically, select the symbol in the Symbol Manager, and click Options. It will let you change the destination sheet.

You can make the changes in the current drawing you are working on, if you want them only for that map. If you want them changed for all maps, open up the original symbol catalog they are contained in and make the same changes there.

Yes, this is expected behaviour. The original symbol splits into 3 when it is placed and no actual instance of itself is placed in the map. As the Purge functions removes all symbols in the drawing that have no actual placed instance, it removes the original, and only the original.