# Export formats

> The files the Export menu writes, what each is good for and what each leaves out, and how to choose between them for a form, an employer or a backup.

The **Export** button in the bar above the editor writes the open resume to a
file, or prints it. Its menu has two parts: **Print**, which has **PDF**, and
**File**, which lists the formats below. A file is named after the resume, with
characters that some systems refuse removed, and with the right extension.

As a guest, choosing a format asks you to sign in or create a free account
first, and the file is made once you have. See
[Accounts and sync](https://shopsalone.com/en/docs/data/accounts.md#asked).

Nothing is uploaded. The file is made in your browser and handed to it to save.

| Format            | File    | Good for                                                | What it leaves out                              |
| ----------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **PDF**           | a print | Sending to an employer.                                 | Nothing: it is the page.                        |
| **HTML**          | `.html` | A faithful copy that opens in any browser.              | Nothing: it is the page.                        |
| **Markdown**      | `.md`   | Content only, in the format the editor reads.           | Style, and anything the format has no word for. |
| **JSON Resume**   | `.json` | Moving to other resume tools.                           | Style, hidden and custom sections, and more.    |
| **Plain text**    | `.txt`  | A form that asks you to paste your resume.              | All styling and structure.                      |
| **Bundle (.zip)** | `.zip`  | Moving a resume to another device and looking the same. | Nothing.                                        |

## PDF

A resume is sent as a PDF, so this is the format most people want. It is
described in [PDF](https://shopsalone.com/en/docs/export/pdf.md).

## HTML

One self-contained file with the same layout as the preview. The styles, the
page breaks the paper measured, your custom CSS, and the images and fonts are all
inside it, as data and not as links, so it needs no network and no other files.
Open it in any browser and it looks as the paper does. The PDF is made by
printing this same document.

## Markdown

The resume as the text the editor shows in `resume.md`, written by the editor's
own writer, so it reads back in exactly. It holds content only. Style, the
template and your CSS are not in it, and a section you have hidden is written as
an ordinary section, because hiding has no syntax. Use a bundle to keep those.
See [The shape of the file](https://shopsalone.com/en/docs/format/overview.md).

## JSON Resume

The content in the JSON Resume format, which many other resume tools read. It
holds the words, the dates and the structure. It has no place for templates or
layout, and it leaves out hidden sections and custom sections, because the
format has fixed section names and nothing a free-titled section could honestly
be called. The item is not offered for a cover letter, which has no such
sections.

## Plain text

The resume with no styling, for a form that has a box to paste into. The name
comes first, then the headline and the contacts on one line, then each section
under its title. An entry is written on one line as its title, subtitle and place,
then its dates in brackets, then the summary and bullets. A link is written as its
label followed by its address in brackets, because text has no links. Pictures,
rules and page breaks have nothing to write. Hidden sections are left out.

## Bundle (.zip)

The one format that reads back to the same resume, with its style, CSS, images
and fonts. See [Bundles](https://shopsalone.com/en/docs/export/bundles.md).

## Which to send

- To an employer: the PDF, or whatever they ask for.
- To a form with a box: plain text.
- To keep a copy that can be edited again: a bundle, and also the Markdown if
  you want a plain file to read.
- To use the content somewhere else: JSON Resume.

Importing is the other direction. See [Import formats](https://shopsalone.com/en/docs/export/import-formats.md).