Exporting content from Whimsical

You'll find all of Whimsical's export options under the Share button in the top right of any file.

Read about them below 👇 or, to learn about the sharing options check out this article.

First, switch to the Export tab in the share menu:

Image export

For boards, you can choose to Export (download) or Copy as image (to your clipboard) as a PNG. With either option, there are a few settings to choose from:

Background: Include the background or exclude it for a transparent PNG.
Size: Choose from 1x or 2x.
Selection: Choose to export only the currently selected content on the board.
Whole board or separate frames: You can download the entire board as one image, or you can export frames as individual images. Exporting as individual images is the best option if you intend to upload to other apps like InVision or Marvel.

Copy board content as image

To copy content on your board as an image, select the content you want to copy, right-click on it and select Copy as image. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command (Mac) or Ctrl (PC) + Shift + C .

Export and copy limits

On our free Starter plan, the following limitations apply for exporting your content and copying it as an image:

1x size only
Whole board only (no selection, no frames)
Include background only, no transparency
"Made with Whimsical" watermark added

You will need to upgrade to Pro to remove any of these limitations.

Note: We don't currently support any type of export to Illustrator, Sketch, or Figma. Although we do have an experimental feature which lets you save a board as an SVG - just add /svg to the end of your board URL. It should look like this whimsical.com/XXXXXXXX/svg

This will load the SVG image where you can right click, and Save As...

PDF export or Print

To export a Doc or Board file as a PDF, select Print, then save as a PDF from there:

Note: On Windows devices , "Microsoft Print to PDF" is the default destination in the print dialog. This setting outputs a flat vector image PDF where you cannot select text.

For a rich PDF change the destination in the print dialog to "Save as PDF":

Quick export using Copy and Paste

Select whatever you want from a file and copy it to your clipboard with Command + C (Mac) or Ctrl + C (PC). Then paste it directly as an image into another app (some native apps like Slack, unfortunately, don't support this).

Text export for mind maps

Alongside the options mentioned above, mind maps can also be exported as text.

To export a mind map as text, select the main node (or any other node if you want to export only part of the mind map), copy it, and then paste it as plain text (sometimes called paste special) with Command (or Ctrl) + Shift + V .

Note: You can export expanded card information by opening the card and using your browser's print shortcut ( Command or Ctrl + P ) then save as a PDF.

What to do if my export fails?

If you get an error message when exporting or copying a board, there are several workarounds you can try to resolve the issue:

Try a different browser: For example, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.
Save your board as an SVG file: Append /svg to the end of your board URL. This will generate an SVG version of the file you can save. If you need a PNG specifically, you can convert the downloaded SVG to a PNG with a tool like this one.
Export as a PDF: These files can also be converted online with a similar tool if needed.
Export smaller portions of the board: If you're unable to export the entire file, try selecting smaller sections within the board and exporting them separately.

What to do if my export file is blurry?

If you are experiencing blurry exports, here are some steps you can take to try and improve their quality:

Save your board as an SVG file: Append /svg to the end of your board URL. This will generate an SVG version of the file you can save. If you need a PNG specifically, you can convert the downloaded SVG to a PNG with a tool like this one.
Export as a PDF: These files can also be converted online with a similar tool if needed.
Make the content on the canvas bigger: Try zooming out and increasing the size of the items to make the export sharper.
Experimenting with different settings and formats can help you to find the best balance between file size and image quality, but if none of these methods work for you, please do contact us and we’ll do whatever we can to help.