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March 7, 2009

Translate PDF Files and Office Documents

This seems to be a recent change: Google Translate can now be used to translate PDF files and Microsoft Office documents. Google first converts the document to the HTML format and then it displays the translated HTML file.

The nice thing is that Google converts the documents on the fly even if they haven't been indexed by Google. Just paste the address of a document in Google Translate's textarea and wait until the translation shows up. Unfortunately, the service is not well-suited for long documents: it only translated the first 9 pages of a PDF file.


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29 comments:

  1. Adrian NowakMarch 8, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    Very userful feature :)

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  2. zhangshengMarch 8, 2009 at 4:02 AM

    google function

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  3. ChrisMarch 8, 2009 at 4:49 AM

    Good job, I hope they also allow uploading of files to be translated.

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  4. ChrisMarch 8, 2009 at 4:59 AM

    I translated this 129 page document it translated all of it. http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/osha/pdf/dictionary/spanish-english.pdf

    http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbs.state.or.us%2Fexternal%2Fosha%2Fpdf%2Fdictionary%2Fspanish-english.pdf&sl=es&tl=en&swap=1

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  5. AnonymousMarch 9, 2009 at 6:42 AM

    recession or not google still seems to be pumping out some useful tools.

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  6. AnonymousMarch 9, 2009 at 11:59 PM

    very useful!!

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  7. AnonymousMarch 14, 2009 at 11:40 AM

    nice

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  8. AnonymousMarch 14, 2009 at 9:57 PM

    Good information.Now Goolge can translate Pdf documents.

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  9. helmy_rossyApril 2, 2009 at 4:13 AM

    very easy and accurate enoug, please try every one!!!

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  10. AnonymousJuly 12, 2009 at 5:04 AM

    Unfortunately it does not translate large files! There is a limitation on the file, and it does not mention what that limitation is!

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  11. translate pdfSeptember 21, 2009 at 1:08 PM

    I get some unreadable translations with safari and firefox browsers, is this browser issue or?
    By unreadable I mean the text is not formatted properly and the words are one over other all over the translated document (pdf in my case)

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  12. AnonymousOctober 5, 2009 at 4:21 PM

    amazing!!

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  13. handeDecember 20, 2009 at 5:31 PM

    One of the best tools to convert PDF by far. More than 200 pages without problem.

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  14. UnknownJanuary 29, 2010 at 6:16 AM

    but how to save the translation because every times i copy and paste the original text came along..huuh...help

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    How are some people translating huge amounts of pages? I can't even get 10 pages to translate?

    Thanks

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  16. UnknownFebruary 28, 2010 at 3:29 AM

    Is there an optional application to get larger files converted? I'd like to convert this file to english: http://www.jan-olof-lindqvist.se/files/DSC-HX5V_manual.pdf

    Anyone successful with that?

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  17. UnknownAugust 2, 2010 at 1:03 PM

    well.. it might not be as good at it looks. PDF files are notoriously difficult to convert. Usually converters insert a line break at the end of each line. So if you look very cloesely, you might find that the context is lost at every line end and that the new line is treated as a new sentence.

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  18. CarolineAugust 15, 2010 at 7:44 AM

    The Google Translate function for PDFs is just so unreliable. Most times I get an error message saying "document is too large to be translated please go back to any of the following pages".

    I have a document translator that can convert PDF but its translation qualities are poor. GT is better.

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  19. AlexSeptember 27, 2010 at 7:15 AM

    very nice stuff

    Yep, it translates small files, however i am also getting error for a large file.

    Could anyone please advice how can i translate an PDF document maintaining its formating and pictures in it?

    I mean i would like it to be of same formating while text is just replaced...

    Maybe it can be a plugin that is just installed in addition to PDF and works within it while viewing PDF???

    Somebody, Please advice

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  20. AnonymousNovember 15, 2010 at 1:49 PM

    Pour traduire un pdf de n'importe quelle langue, j'utilise. http://translate.google.com http://www.traductordeingles.info/fr.html

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  21. IinaDecember 17, 2010 at 3:57 AM

    There are also several PDF translators available. Best of those have a price but they are still affordable to most people. Those translators translate even large PDF files with just a few clicks. Just type PDF translator into Google to find any of those translation tools.

    To Alex: As far as I know for example Multilizer PDF Translator maintains the images and the layout of the original file into the translated file as well.

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  22. Translate PDFDecember 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM

    At first the function was a bit buggy (the text was all messed up for some pdf's), but it's great now.

    Is the limit up to 4 pages still effective or it's increased?

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  23. Jenny ThomasJanuary 15, 2011 at 12:17 AM

    Thanx, this work great on the fly for me.

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  24. AnonymousMarch 10, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    DocTranslator translates PDF files and returns them in their original format (images, tables, etc..)

    Best of all its FREE and requires no subscription, email address, etc!

    It also translates Word, Excel, Powerpoint, subtitle files...

    You can find it here:
    http://www.onlinedoctranslator.com/

    The only draw back is apparently it only works on Windows machines, not Macs. =(

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  25. PDF TranslatorApril 28, 2011 at 7:11 AM

    Is there any software that can cut document after each 9 pages, so we can translate bigger files ?

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  26. thenvironmentalistJune 27, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    http://www.onlinedoctranslator.com/translator.html good for translating large docs but took long before I gave up (slow connection)

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  27. Translate PDFAugust 23, 2011 at 3:59 AM

    Why Google Translator only translate the first half of the document?

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  28. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2012 at 1:22 AM

    http://www.onlinedoctranslator.com/translator.html
    has no certificate. uses java. strike 3 ???

    ReplyDelete
  29. pdf translatorAugust 15, 2012 at 3:20 PM

    Is there an alternative to google translator to handle pdf translations?

    ReplyDelete

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