Pressing fix does it all in one pass. Copy and print restrictions are lifted; a file that needs a password to open asks for the one you know. Live fields are flattened into the page, scripts and launch actions removed, and the author, title and software metadata stripped with the XMP packet — the places where a template’s title or a previous employer’s name can travel unseen. If the file is still over the limit, the highest-quality version that fits is found automatically, and text is never rasterised — though if colour cannot fit, the last settings turn pictures grayscale and the report names the setting used, so check a portfolio’s images, or raise the limit if the portal allows. The file is then checked again, and a plain-text report lists every check and change. Pages with no text are recognised in the same pass, on your device, while the free plan’s 5 OCR pages a day cover them (Pro has no limit); beyond that, the checklist names them and offers the OCR tool. A photo-heavy portfolio may still not fit, and the report says so; nothing here can promise a portal will accept the file.
How it works
- Drop the CV and open Upload-ready — Job application is already chosen; change 2 MB to the portal’s limit if it differs
- Read the checklist: fixed automatically, or needs you — scanned pages are recognised in the same pass when today’s OCR allowance covers them
- Fix and check again; download the file and the plain-text report of every change
Questions people ask
What happens to a scanned CV?
A scan stores a picture of your words rather than the words, and applicant systems read the text layer. Upload-ready recognises the text on those pages in the same pass, on your device, and lays it invisibly over the page — as long as today’s OCR allowance covers them: the free plan includes 5 OCR pages a day, Pro has no limit. A longer scan is listed with a button to the OCR tool instead. The added text is invisible, so search for or select your name, email and phone number in the result to check what was recognised, since OCR can misread. If you still have the original document, exporting the PDF from it gives exact text with no OCR needed.
Which metadata is removed, and why does it matter on a CV?
The title, author, subject, keywords, creator and producer fields, plus the XMP metadata packet. None of it shows on the page, but anyone who opens the document properties can read it — a title left from a downloaded template, an author name from a previous employer’s computer, the software that made an old draft. Removing it leaves the pages, text and layout as they were, and the report records the change. The download keeps your file name with “-ready” added, so rename it before uploading if you like.
Does the free plan add anything to my CV?
Yes — PDF exports on the free plan carry a small “Made with Bindery” line at the foot of each page. It is added before the final size check, so the limit is measured on the file you actually download. Otherwise the free plan covers this tool without an account: 3 completed jobs per UTC day, files up to 25 MB and 5 OCR pages a day. Running the checklist uses none of those jobs; the fix is one, including any OCR it runs, whose pages also count toward the 5 a day. Pro removes the line and the caps, from $4 a month billed yearly.