Metadata Correction - Print to PDF

Alex Tavares
Alex Tavares
  • Updated

This article can be helpful in correcting the following issues:

  • Board book failing to build.
  • Agenda shortcuts skipping to the incorrect section of the board book.
  • Annotations displaying incorrectly in the board book.
  • eSignatures displaying in the incorrect orientation or position.
  • Documents uploading but missing from the board book.
  • User receiving a Network Error when viewing a board book that uses section permissions.

The majority of times that a user typically experiences any of the issues described above can be associated to a PDF file with corrupt or inaccurate metadata. Once the file that has been causing the issue has been located, the following fix can be applied to re-create it's metadata, correcting the underlying cause of the problem.

How to correct the file metadata from a computer: 

1. Open the original document in the native program on your computer (Acrobat, Word, Excel, etc.)
2. Go to "Print".
3. Under Printers, select "Microsoft Print to PDF."

Important Note for Mac users: You will instead have an option for "Save" or "PDF" near the the bottom of your print prompt. Click this and choose "Save as PDF."

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If you're missing this option, your IT team or computer administrator may need to enable it in your system settings. 

4. Go to the bottom of that same popup, and you'll see "Orientation". Change it from "auto portrait/Landscape" to just "landscape" or just "portrait" according to how you want the document to display (This step is only necessary if there is an issue with the file orientation).
5. Press Print (you aren't actually printing, this will pull up a save screen). 
6. Once the document is saved, upload the new simplified .PDF version to OnBoard in place of the original file.

Note: Mac users using Adobe Reader won't see the Save As PDF option in the Adobe Print menu. Instead, Mac users will have to use the Preview application to access the Save As PDF option.

How to correct the file metadata from a mobile device: 

Android

1. Tap Share, then choose Print.

2. Set the printer as "Save as PDF" then click the Download PDF button.

3. Choose the location to save your file, then click Save.

iOS

1. Tap the Share icon, then choose Print.

2. Open the document preview, then tap the Share icon on the preview.

3. Choose the location to save, and your document will be converted to PDF.


The above process not only corrects inaccurate or corrupt data, but it also recreates the metadata of a file using Microsoft's standard format - which tends to be more compatible with several platforms. 

Please note that this also flattens PDFs and might cause hyperlinks contained within the document to no longer function.

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