PDF translations and the issues that may arise

Definition of PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF for Adobe is the standard file format that is used to share files and documents regardless of the software. PDF files always have a similar layout on all computers despite the local settings. Most documents sent for translation are in PDF, which, for translators, is not an ideal file format. PDF is a formatted document, and the original format of the document can be in Microsoft Word, or Adobe InDesign. Another format is the PDF scanned format.

PDF is a standard form used to present information that may have been created in specialized programs. An expert PDF language translator must be able to work correctly with this standard form while assuring that you have the content you expect from your translation. When you translate PDF documents, it can need various additional actions that not all translation agencies are ready to offer. Human translation services are essential to your success.

Converting PDF to Microsoft Word Document

CAT tools like memoQ cannot convert scanned PDFs. You will need other applications to do so. These programs come in handy if your file is in regular PDF format and memoQ convertor cannot produce the document required. The applications will vary according the language and content types. You will have to try several before you settle on the one that suits your needs.

PDF translations and CAT tools

PDF documents have become the primary standard for business presentations. When you are creating a document with a fixed layout, businesses will generally generate a PDF. The PDF standard is highly reliable and allows receivers of a document to see it and print it in the same manner that the document’s creators intended.

CAT tools are crucial for the translation of text documents, and they work through four main functions.  They come in handy when you receive a PDF document and you need to translate it to another format. An example of the most used CAT tools is memoQ. This article highlights the process of PDF translations and the problems commonly encountered.

PDF translations and conversion

Most files sent for translation come in PDF format. You can ask the sender to share the original file with you. If you receive it, you will avoid a lot of unnecessary steps. If you cannot convert it, you will need to install a CAT tool. MemoQ comes with an in-built PDF to Word converter, which will give you very excellent results. You will, however; be required to save the converted file in Microsoft Word. Converted PDF documents will also give you a lot of tags and line breaks. In case the in-built convertor of memoQ does not suit your needs, you can try to use OCR tools such as VueScan, Capture2Text, gImageReader and FreeOCR to Word. In case these applications do not meet your standards, Dave Turner’s excellent CodeZapper macros will give you the options of processing the files and removing tags.

PDF document alignment and monolingual PDF files

Using memoQ’s in-built PDF filter may be worth it, especially when aligning translated documents or with monolingual PDF files. This is because memoQ feature will turn a PDF file into text. In addition, the filter will not give tags or will not give line breaks. To do this, follow these steps:

• Open the memoQ application
• Go to LiveDocs and select for instance, ‘Add alignment pair’.
• Click on ‘Add source documents’.
• Go to and click on ‘Change filter and configuration’
• Under ‘General’, choose ‘Import by converting to Plain Text’.
• Do the same with target documents

PDF translations to other formats can be tricky at times. There are several applications that can make this process simple for you and give you desired results as discussed above.

If you need PDF translation services get in touch, we translate any type of document in any format from and into any language at the lowest rates in Florida.

Where to get PDF translations?

Universal Translation Services has worked the challenges associated with PDF translations. We know that when you translate a PDF file on most translation stages, you get an output without any of the original formatting in place. The spacing, font, paragraph breaks, font size and other font properties are lost. This results in excessive time spent on reformatting the new file.

With UTS however, you upload a PDF file and the translated document will keep all the original formatting and style, so you get exactly the same document, only translated.

While usually PDF documents are mostly used in business, it is not unusual for people to send their birth certificate in PDF format. We can translate any documents, from and into any language, no matter what format or type of document it is.