"Export pdf" for Microsoft whiteboard not working. Saved pdf appears blank.

Question

I am a tutor and I use Microsoft whiteboard to teach my students. At the end of the class, I use the 'export pdf' option to save my whiteboard as a pdf. Since April 10th 2023, doing so creates a pdf file that is blank. Nothing I wrote on the whiteboard is visible. Why is this happening?

Answer 1

Hi, my name is Anderson Souza, I hope I can help you with your issue.

First, check if your system already has all the latest updates installed, go to Start menu > Settings > Windows Update, check and apply all updates.

After installing the pending updates and restarting the computer, go back to the same Windows Update screen, click Advanced Options > Optional Updates, apply the optional updates, and restart the PC.

Also, ensure your apps are up to date. Check the proper procedures at the link below:

https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/s...

Check if the problem persists.

It's because of the Microsoft, not about any individual updates etc. They just keep making whiteboard worse and then saying it's better... I am fed up with this app. They suddenly removed add document option for normal accounts and they messed pdf export option for both normal and office 365 accounts.

Answer 2

There really seems to be an issue with the latest version of the app, I was able to reproduce the issue here as well. In this case, you can work around the problem using the printing shortcut Ctrl + p, in the print window, change the printer to "Microsoft Print to PDF", this way, you will be able to generate PDFs to deliver to your students.

Answer 3

I have a work-around solution. I export the whiteboard as a png file using 'export image' option and then convert it to pdf using a free pdf converter.

I think we are stuck with this till a future update solves this issue.

Answer 4

I did exactly as instructed above. The problem persists.

I went into the app settings

I clicked 'repair'. Problem persisted.

I clicked' reset'. Problem persisted.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. No luck. The problem still persists.

Clicking the 'export PDF' option just creates a blank PDF file with absolutely nothing that was on the board visible.

I downloaded the app from the Microsoft store. I own a Dell laptop that came with a free subscription to word, excel and powerpoint. Has Microsoft decided to limit the capabilities of the whiteboard to users who do not have a paid subscription to Microsoft 365?

Hope Microsoft will issue a statement or a fix.

Answer 5

I have a work-around solution. I export the whiteboard as a png file using 'export image' option and then convert it to pdf using a free pdf converter.

I think we are stuck with this till a future update solves this issue.

the quality is not the same but yes, we are stuck with this. this really is annoying... you cannot add documents and you cannot export your board. amazing...