Scanned and image-only PDFs (OCR)
RemakeCV reads scanned, photographed and image-only PDFs automatically using OCR, recovering content that has no text layer at all — including names held inside header graphics.
RemakeCV reads scanned and image-only PDFs automatically. When a PDF has no usable text layer, optical character recognition runs over the page images and the CV is rebuilt from what it recovers — so a scan of a printed CV formats into your template like any other file. You can also invoke it deliberately with the Image Process option, which is the quickest way to recover a candidate name held inside a header graphic.
When does OCR run?
Automatically, whenever the document calls for it:
- The PDF has no text layer at all — a scan or a photograph of a printed CV. OCR happens transparently during extraction.
- The text layer is present but sparse, which indicates a broken or partial layer.
- The extracted text needs the page layout to be read properly — see multi-column and design-heavy CVs.
A DOCX carries real structure and is read directly, so it never needs this path.
Can I invoke OCR myself?
Yes, and on some documents it is the fastest route. Alongside the default Standard Process, there is an Image Process option — settable for a whole upload or per file — plus a reprocess as image action on a CV you have already run. Reprocessing is always free.
Reach for Image Process when a CV's header is a graphic. The text layer of a designed PDF often omits header content entirely, which means the candidate's name can be held only in the image while the rest of the CV parses perfectly. OCR reads the header as a human sees it.
What is worth a quick check
Any CV that arrives as a scan is worth the same thirty-second review you would give it if you had retyped it yourself. In rough order of value:
The candidate's name
Names frequently sit inside a header graphic or stylised banner. If it looks off, Image Process is the fix.
Email addresses and phone numbers
Character-level detail matters most where it is a contact route, so it is worth a glance before the CV goes out.
Dates
2013and2018are one character apart on a poor scan.Registration and licence numbers
Anything carrying legal or safety weight. See custom extraction fields.
Why does a scanned CV take longer?
Reading page images is a separate pass before parsing can begin, so a scanned document takes longer than a Word file — a few seconds on a typical CV. A large batch of scans takes correspondingly longer than the same number of DOCX files, which is worth knowing when you plan a bulk run. See bulk formatting.
Very tall and continuous-scroll pages
CVs exported from Canva, Notion and web page-builders are sometimes a single continuous page metres long rather than a set of A4 pages. Most tools render these too small to read anything.
RemakeCV detects unusually tall pages, slices them into overlapping windows before reading, then stitches the results back together — so a continuous-scroll CV formats into your template like a normal document.
Getting the best result from a scan
| Source | Advice |
|---|---|
| Word version available | Best possible input, if the candidate has one to hand |
| Clean flatbed scan | Reads well |
| Phone photo of a printed CV | Usable; a flatter, better-lit photo reads more cleanly |
| Skewed or low-contrast scan | Worth a quick review of names, dates and contact details |
None of this needs managing day to day — scans go through the same upload as everything else. It only matters when you are handling a large batch of them at once and want the cleanest possible run.
Frequently asked questions
- Can RemakeCV read a scanned CV?
- Yes, automatically. If a PDF has no usable text layer, RemakeCV runs OCR over the page images and rebuilds the CV from the recovered content — no separate step and no different workflow.
- Do I need to do anything to enable OCR?
- No. RemakeCV switches to OCR by itself when a PDF needs it. You can also invoke it deliberately with the Image Process option, which helps when the candidate's name sits in a header graphic.
- The candidate's name is missing. What now?
- Names often sit inside header graphics, which a PDF's text layer omits. Reprocess with Image Process and the name is normally recovered — reprocessing is free.
- Can RemakeCV handle a CV exported from Canva or Notion?
- Yes. These export as a single continuous page rather than A4 sheets, and RemakeCV slices tall pages into overlapping windows before reading them, then stitches the result back together.
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