---
title: "Selecting the right page format"
description: "Compare the A4, Letter, and Free-Form page format options in Reactive Resume and pick the right size, margins, and orientation for your resume."
---

Reactive Resume offers three page format options: **A4**, **Letter**, and **Free-Form**. Each format affects how your resume is rendered and exported as a PDF. This guide explains the differences and helps you choose the right format for your situation.

## Available formats

### A4

A4 is the international standard paper size used in most countries outside North America. When you select A4, your resume pages conform to these dimensions:

| Property | Value          |
| -------- | -------------- |
| Width    | 210mm (794px)  |
| Height   | 297mm (1123px) |

Choose A4 if you're applying to jobs internationally or in regions that use the metric system.

### Letter

Letter is the standard paper size in the United States and Canada. When you select Letter, your resume pages conform to these dimensions:

| Property | Value          |
| -------- | -------------- |
| Width    | 216mm (816px)  |
| Height   | 279mm (1056px) |

Choose Letter if you're applying to jobs in North America.

### Free-Form

Free-Form is a modern format designed for digital-first resumes. Instead of conforming to a physical page size, Free-Form produces a **single continuous page** with no height limit. The width matches A4 (210mm), but the height extends as needed to fit all your content.

| Property | Value         |
| -------- | ------------- |
| Width    | 210mm (794px) |
| Height   | Unlimited     |

<Info>
  With Free-Form, there are no page breaks. Your entire resume renders as one seamless document, regardless of how much
  content you have.
</Info>

## Why Free-Form exists

The reality of modern job applications is that **nobody prints resumes anymore**. Your resume is almost always viewed digitally—on a screen, in an applicant tracking system (ATS), or parsed by AI-powered screening tools.

When your resume is processed digitally:

- **ATS parsers** extract text content regardless of page dimensions
- **AI scanners** analyze the full document as a single unit
- **Recruiters** scroll through PDFs on their screens rather than printing them
- **PDF parsing tools** read the entire content regardless of page height

Since physical page constraints no longer matter for most use cases, Free-Form lets you focus on content rather than worrying about fitting everything into arbitrary page limits.

<Tip>
  If you don't plan on printing your resume, Free-Form is often the simplest choice. You never have to worry about
  content overflowing or awkward page breaks.
</Tip>

## How to change your page format

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your resume in the builder">
    Navigate to your Dashboard and click on the resume you want to edit.
  </Step>

<Step title="Open the right sidebar">
  In the resume builder, look for the right sidebar on the right side of the screen.
</Step>

<Step title="Navigate to the Page section">
  In the right sidebar, find and click on the **Page** section to expand it.
</Step>

  <Step title="Select your format">
    Find the **Format** dropdown and select your preferred option: A4, Letter, or Free-Form.

    <Frame caption="Screenshot of the Format dropdown in the Page section">
      <img src="/images/guides/selecting-page-format/screenshot-1.webp" alt="Screenshot of the Format dropdown in the Page section" />
    </Frame>

  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the preview">
    Your resume preview updates immediately to reflect the new format. Check that your content displays correctly.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Choosing the right format

Use this quick reference to decide which format fits your needs:

| Situation                               | Recommended Format |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Applying to jobs in North America       | Letter             |
| Applying to jobs internationally        | A4                 |
| Digital-only applications (no printing) | Free-Form          |
| Uploading to ATS or job portals         | Free-Form          |
| Need to print physical copies           | A4 or Letter       |
| Long resume with lots of content        | Free-Form          |
| Traditional industries (law, finance)   | A4 or Letter       |

<Warning>
  If you switch from Free-Form to A4 or Letter, your content will be split across multiple pages. Review the result
  carefully to ensure page breaks don't occur in awkward places.
</Warning>

## Example PDFs

Download these sample resumes to see how different formats affect the final PDF output:

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card
    arrow
    horizontal
    title="A4 Format Example"
    icon="file-pdf"
    href="https://github.com/user-attachments/files/24849548/a4.pdf"
  >
    A sample resume in A4 format showing traditional page breaks and constraints.
  </Card>
  <Card
    arrow
    horizontal
    title="Free-Form Example"
    icon="file-lines"
    href="https://github.com/user-attachments/files/24849552/free-form.pdf"
  >
    A sample resume in Free-Form format showing a continuous single-page layout.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Does Free-Form work with ATS systems?">
    Yes. ATS systems parse the text content of your PDF, not the page dimensions. Free-Form resumes are fully compatible with applicant tracking systems.
  </Accordion>

<Accordion title="Can I switch formats after creating my resume?">
  Absolutely. You can change the format at any time from the Page section in the right sidebar. Your content is
  preserved—only the layout changes.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="What if a job posting asks for a 'one-page resume'?">
  If the employer specifically requests a one-page resume and expects a traditional format, use A4 or Letter and ensure
  your content fits within a single page. See [Fitting content on a page](/guides/fitting-content-on-a-page) for tips.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Does Free-Form affect the file size?">
  Slightly. A longer single page may produce a marginally larger PDF than a paginated version of the same content, but
  the difference is negligible for typical resume lengths.
</Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Which format should I use for LinkedIn?">
    LinkedIn doesn't display uploaded resumes in their original format—it extracts the content. Free-Form works perfectly for LinkedIn uploads.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
