What your plan allows
Manual PDF upload is free: no quantity limit, up to 20 MB per file, no verified email required and available on every plan. Automatic retrieval uses no AI, but is limited to your plan's record count (100 on the free plan). Above that, the app tells you and you can upload the remainder manually. AI full-text screening is paid and, like every AI feature, requires a verified email. On the free plan, you read the PDF and decide yourself with the same reason log.
Before you start
You need included studies and at least one criterion marked “Full text” in the Criteria stage.
Get the PDFs
- Click “Find open-access PDFs”. revisia checks Unpaywall and tries to retrieve files that are legally available.
- Review unretrieved items. Automatic download only works when the source provides a direct PDF link. An article can be open access but link only to its webpage.
- Upload missing files. “Upload PDF” works for any study and takes priority over automatic retrieval.
- Check the list. No study disappears. Unretrieved items remain visible until you decide what to do.
Screen full text
- Start screening. The AI applies only the criteria for this phase, using the PDF content.
- Review the evidence. Confirm or correct each study's decision.
- Give a reason when excluding. Every full-text exclusion needs a reason, which feeds PRISMA and the audit log.
Troubleshooting
- It cannot find a PDF that I know is open access. The source probably links to the article page rather than the file. Upload it manually.
- It asks for a full-text criterion. Return to Criteria and mark at least one for that stage.
- There are many “not retrieved” items. Prioritise PDFs for the studies that matter most. You can continue with the rest while obtaining them.
- It says my plan covers N automatic downloads. That is your plan's record cap, not an error. Upload the remainder manually without a quantity limit.