Can I translate a PDF or scanned document?
The translator accepts image files, not PDF files. Export each needed PDF page as a clear image and process pages in their original order.
Prepare document pages before OCR
- Export only the required pages at a size where the smallest important text is readable.
- Name page images in order and keep headers, footnotes, and continuation lines attached.
- Preserve the original PDF separately so every translated passage can be traced back.
Turn only the required pages into ordered images
A scanned page can be translated after it is saved as JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, or TIFF. A PDF must first be exported page by page because the upload control does not accept PDF directly. Use a high-resolution export and keep the untouched PDF as the source record.
For several pages, name images in page order and translate one logical page or region at a time. Repeated headers, footnotes, tables, stamps, and text that continues across pages can otherwise enter the wrong sequence. Keep page numbers beside the extracted source and translation.
For page order, repeated headers, and continuation lines, follow the workflow to translate a multi-page document from photos.
A page image workflow produces reviewable text, not a reconstructed PDF. Forms, official records, complex layouts, signatures, and documents that require certification may need specialist software or a qualified translator. Confirm the required format with the receiving organization before rebuilding a translated document.
Know when page images are not enough
Image translation does not create an editable or certified translated PDF. Stop and use a document-specific workflow when the result must preserve forms, signatures, exact layout, accessibility tags, official acceptance, or a legally meaningful page sequence. The required deliverable should determine the process before upload.
If the final document must resemble the scan, also review whether image translation can preserve formatting.