Getting the most out of PDFs
How do I translate a PDF without sending it to a server?
Recent Chrome and Edge include an on-device translator a web page can use, so a PDF's text can be translated with nothing uploaded, at the cost of a one-time language-pack download, and with real gaps in which language pairs are supported.
Translating a document usually means handing all of it to a translation service. For a menu that is fine. For a contract, a medical letter or anything with a name and an address in it, you should think before you do it.
Now you can translate without sending the text anywhere.
The browser has a translator in it
Recent versions of Chrome and Edge include the same translator that runs "translate this page", and web pages can use it. It runs on your computer. The text doesn't go to any server, including Google's and ours.
Translate PDF reads your PDF's text in the browser, gives it to that translator paragraph by paragraph, and shows the original beside the translation so you can check it.
What it costs
The first time you use a language pair, the browser downloads a language pack. It is a large download, so expect to wait, and on a slow connection it can take several minutes. It happens once. After that the pair works straight away, even offline.
While it downloads, the page shows a percentage, so you know it is working.
Which browsers
- Chrome and Edge, version 138 or newer: supported.
- Firefox and Safari: nothing similar that a web page can use.
On a browser that isn't supported, the tool says so and stops. It never uploads your document somewhere else instead.
Which languages, and one gap
The browser's translator covers a good range of major languages, and the common European pairs translate well.
It does not currently support English to Bangla. The browser says the pair is available and downloads a language pack for it, but then the translation won't start. That is a limit of the browser, and a web page can't fix it. If you need Bangla translation today, this tool can't do it, and it tells you so straight away instead of failing after a five-minute wait.
That may change. Browsers add languages with each release, and the tool checks each pair every time.
Before you translate: is there text?
The same rule as every text tool. A scanned page is an image of words and there is nothing to translate. OCR PDF turns the picture back into text first.
What you get back
You get paragraphs, with the original beside the translation. You don't get a translated PDF in the original layout. That is much harder, because translated text is a different length from the original, and fitting it back into a laid-out page changes the document. You get the text in order, with the pages marked, and you can copy or download it.
If you need the translation *in* the document, translate first, then type it in with the PDF editor where you control exactly where it goes.
Common questions
Does my PDF get uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the file and its own translator does the translation on your computer. Nothing is sent to a translation service.
Why is it downloading something?
The first time you use a language pair, the browser downloads a language pack for it and keeps it. It happens once. After that the pair works offline.
It says my browser cannot do this. Why?
Firefox and Safari have no built-in translator a page can use, and older Chrome and Edge don't either. The only other way would be to upload your document, and this tool won't do that without telling you.
Can it translate English to Bangla?
Not at present. The browser lists the pair but then won't translate it. The tool tells you so instead of leaving you waiting.