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esther0708
esther0708
Participant
February 17, 2026
Question

Adobe illustrator export to pdf is blank

  • February 17, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 197 views

Help! I am unsure why but when I export Ai as a pdf. The pdf is blank. Why is this the case? Nothing is clipped into a mask layers are showing. 

    4 replies

    R
    Rachael327306928xl3
    Participant
    March 5, 2026

    Mine is doing the exact same thing. I can export as a PNG fine, but not PDF. Did you find a solution? Thanks

    barbara_a7746676
    Community Expert
    barbara_a7746676Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 17, 2026

    Check if you have artwork that is outside the artboard. Make sure there are no hidden layers or unprintable layers (check Layers panel to make sure layers are set to print).

    Try using File > Save As instead of Export.

    It is possible that the file is corrupt. If so, copy the contents to a new file and try again.

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 17, 2026

      Exactly how are you exporting and where are you saving the file?

      WHat’s in the file?

       

      Which Version is it?

        Tina_Irvine
        Community Expert
        Tina_IrvineCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 17, 2026

        Hi ​@esther0708, do you have multiple artboards? Perhaps it’s showing another artboard first..? Also, just to troubleshoot, maybe try “save as” rather than export?

          esther0708
          esther0708Author
          Participant
          February 17, 2026

          Hi tina, only one artboard and I tried save as to pdf and even jpeg but it did not work. I then saved to eps and it worked. Very odd. Is it a bug ?

          Anubhav M
          Community Manager
          Anubhav MCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          February 17, 2026

          Hello ​@esther0708 

           

          Could you confirm the version of the OS/Illustrator installed and share a link to a sample AI file, along with screenshots of the export settings used, so we can try and replicate this on our end?


          Looking forward to hearing from you.
          Anubhav

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