Translate a user manual
Drop a manual or instruction document. The text is translated; tables, diagrams and step numbers stay where they were.
Don't upload confidential documents on the free tier. Why?
Manuals are long, repetitive and full of tables, numbered steps and diagrams, which makes them tedious to translate by copy-and-paste and easy to break. DropTranslate works inside the file: Word manuals keep their styles and tables, PDF manuals are rebuilt as closely as possible with a DOCX copy, and Markdown documentation keeps its headings and code blocks. It suits product manuals, assembly instructions, internal procedures and help-centre articles, and it is just as useful the other way round, when a device arrives with instructions you can't read.
Safety texts need a human check
Safety warnings and instructions for regulated products can have legal requirements in the market where you sell, including the language and who must check the text. Have a qualified reviewer check warnings and safety instructions before you publish a translated manual, and check the product rules for your market.
Good for
- Translating product manuals and quick-start guides for new markets
- Reading instructions that came only in a foreign language
- Translating internal procedures and help-centre articles
Before you translate
- Keep product names, model numbers and button labels consistent with what is printed on the product.
- Check measurements, torque values, voltages and other numbers against the original.
- Text inside diagrams and screenshots is part of the image and isn't translated.
- Have a technically competent reader check safety warnings.
Questions
Are diagrams translated?
No. Text that is part of an image or diagram stays as it is. Captions and labels typed as text in the document are translated.
Which format works best?
The original Word or Markdown source, if you have it. Those keep the layout exactly. A PDF works too and comes with an editable DOCX copy.
How long can the manual be?
Up to 300 pages or 100,000 words per file. The credit cost is shown before you confirm.