My artboards have turned white and all of the content has disappeared.

[Scott218544677fae]

I was working on a project and when I loaded it up today all of the content was still there but I couldn't see it. I've looked for an answer online but couldnt find a solution. I then attempted to restart the project in a new file but then the issue has happened again where all the content has dissapeared and turned white. The content still shows on the preview of the project so I'm hoping theres a solution to getting my work back.

I have attached images that show my artboards and the preview.

I hope somebody can help, thanks.

[michelew83603738]

Can you rename the file and see if that helps. Also, what happens if you open it as a pdf? Does the content show there?

[Scott218544677fae]

I tried renaming the file and nothing changed, I also opened it as a pdf and some of the content is shown but not all of it. The background was correct and some of the text appeared but none of the images were there

[Ton Frederiks]

You have a lot of linked files, are they still linked or are the links broken?

Where did you save your files, using cloud services can corrupt your files.

[Scott218544677fae]

The images haven't moved, they're still in a folder on my PC. I'm new to illustrator and I'm used to photoshop, should i not just drag and drop the images in? (still learning lol). But even then surely the images would be the only things that are missing and not the text and other shapes too?

[Ton Frederiks]

Can you check View > Links panel for missing links?

Can you select the objects that say Clip Group in your Layers panel and select Object > Clipping Mask > Release?

Or Select > Object > Clipping Masks and Object > Clipping Mask > Release?

[Scott218544677fae]

Here is the links pannel:

I released the layers and they're still there but not showing up:

[Ton Frederiks]

So the links are there. Maybe it is as simple as checking the View Menu, are you in Outline View?

[Scott218544677fae]

No but this is what it looks like when i turn on outline view:

[Ton Frederiks]

Looks as everything is there. Restarting your machine and resetting the Preferences are things you can do when strange things happen.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/setting-preferences.html

[Scott218544677fae]

I went and installed the 29.2 verision instead of the 29.2.1 that i was on previously which also wiped my preferences i'm pretty sure and that didnt change anything.

[Ton Frederiks]

Yes, it can wipe your settings, in the link given above is described how to make a backup of the prefs.

It still looks like they are just hidden, did you try to remove clipping masks?

Select > Object > Clipping Masks and Object > Clipping Mask > Release?

[Scott218544677fae]

Yea I did and no luck still sadly.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi @Michelle365358921gmf

Sorry for the delayed response! I hope the issue has been resolved by now, but if not, I’d love to help.

I see that Ton has already shared some helpful steps. If those didn’t work, I might be able to assist further if I can take a look at the document. Could you please package the file and share it with me? You can save the package on Creative Cloud, Dropbox, or a similar service and share the download link here or via DM (if file has confidential data).

Let me know, and I’d be happy to take a closer look!

Regards,

Srishti

[Darbinieks31617391llav]

Hello, I'm having the same issue for one of the files. Other ones are working just fine. What should I do, if I tried all the previous suggestions in this conversation and none of them was helping. 

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi Darbinieks31617391llav,

We are sorry to hear you're unable to see the content in your file. Would you mind sharing a screenshot of your file with the layers panel open? Please also tell us if the file is saved locally or in the cloud.

Would you be able to share the file with us?

We will try our best to help.

Thanks,

Harshika

[emilym55281361]

Hi!

I know this is a bit late but I've also recently experieced this bug and found a way round it. It's not ideal and Adobe needs to sort this out.

When this happens, go into outline mode ('View' > 'Outline' OR Command + Y). This will reveal some huge looking 'links' that you couldn't see previosly (they'll be bleeding off the whole document). This seems to be the bug that's turning the artboards white. 

You need to stay in outline mode and delete real links until the glitch 'links' dissapear. They will be connected to a real link so it's a trial an error of deleting things till you find them.

One you manage to delete them, come off outline mode and the file should be bacl to normal. You'll have to add back in any links that you deleted.

Hope this makes sense! I've attached a screenshot of my file below, where you can see the huge 'link' which bleeds off the whole file -  this is the bug and the key is to delete it.