Import formats

You can start a resume from a file you already have. In the new resume dialog, under Import a file, choose one. See Make a new resume. Nothing is written until you choose Create resume, so a file that cannot be read costs you a message and nothing else.

How a file is recognised#

The extension is only a hint. Rejarsume looks at what is inside:

1. A zip, which is recognised by its first bytes, is a bundle.
2. A file that ends in .json, or whose text starts with a curly brace, is read as JSON Resume.
3. A file with a # heading or a :: directive in it is read as Markdown.
4. Anything else is read as plain text.

A JSON file saved as .txt is therefore still read as JSON, and a .md with no heading in it is read as text.

Markdown#

The format these docs describe. It is read by the same reader as the Markdown pane, so it is understood exactly as if you had typed it there. A line that cannot be typeset is kept as source text, and the dialog says how many, so the editor can point at them. See The shape of the file.

JSON Resume#

The format many other resume tools write. It carries words, dates and structure, and Rejarsume reads it generously, because a file in the wild often has a number where the schema says a string, a missing list, or a field from a newer revision. Each field that cannot be read is treated as absent, and each list keeps the items that can.

A resume here has no place for some of what JSON Resume can hold. The dialog lists what was left out, and does not drop it quietly:

• the photograph;
• links on jobs, schools and projects;
• grades;
• courses;
• skill levels;
• project keywords.

A file that is not valid JSON, or is JSON that is not a JSON Resume, is refused with a sentence saying which. See Export formats for the other direction.

Plain text#

Plain text has no structure, so reading it is a guess, and the guess is small. It recognises the habits of a text resume:

• The first line is your name.
• Between it and the first heading is the header. A piece that looks like an email address, a phone number or a web address becomes a contact, with an icon. The first line that is none of those is the headline.
• A line is a heading if it is a name the format knows, such as Experience, or a short line in capitals with no digits. A trailing colon is allowed.
• A line that starts with a bullet character, such as a dot, a dash or an asterisk, is a list item, and an indented line under it continues it.
• Every other line is a paragraph.

It does not look for entries. A line such as a role, a company and dates is read as a paragraph, and you can turn it into an entry in the Markdown pane. The headings decide the sections, so look them over once the file opens.

Text and Markdown share one reader. Plain text is turned into Markdown and then read by the same parser, so a text file is never understood differently from the same content typed into the editor.

Bundles#

A bundle is read back whole, with its style and files. See Bundles.

Limits#

A Markdown, JSON or text file is a few kilobytes. One larger than a megabyte is turned away as probably not being a resume. A bundle is allowed to be larger, up to the limits on its own page.