Hi forum! I have a question about translating PDF documents into French using Translate. I'm going to translate some reports, but I'm not sure how good the translation will be, especially for specific topics. Does anyone have experience using this service for PDFs? How does it handle formatting and technical terms? Any advice would be appreciated!
- I used https://www.translate.com/services/pdf-translation/french to translate a PDF document into French, and I can share my experience. At first, yes, the service is very convenient - you just upload a file and get the translation in a short time. However, as you rightly pointed out, the quality of translation can vary depending on the complexity of the text. In my case, I was translating a technical software manual. Some specific terms related to programming were translated incorrectly. For example, the word “class” was translated as “class”, but in the context of programming it can mean something completely different. So, if you have the chance, it's worth checking key terms in advance through specialized dictionaries or just googling. I ended up compiling a list of key terms and checking them before the final translation, which saved a lot of time on edits. Formatting is another sore subject. I had tables and charts in my document, and after translation, some elements shifted or disappeared completely. If your PDF contains a lot of visual information, you will have to manually restore order after translation. I spent a couple hours fixing the formatting, which added to all the other difficulties.
Faithlife User — Edited
Hi everyone, thanks for the discussion, very helpful! I'm thinking about Translate too, but I'm wondering how this service handles fiction texts. Does anyone have experience translating something like this? Is it okay to use automatic translation, or is it better to look for professionals?