1. Quick Way to Translate Scanned PDF to English
If you want to translate scanned PDFs into English without the hassle of multiple steps, consider using professional software like SwifDoo PDF. It is an all-in-one PDF management tool that offers various advanced features, including OCR and translation.
Unlike ordinary methods, SwifDoo PDF integrates OCR and translation into one seamless process. In other words, it can translate scanned PDF files directly without manually converting them to editable text: add the scanned PDF file, click Translate, wait a while, and get the result. Easy and fast!
Steps to use SwifDoo PDF to translate scanned PDF to English:
With SwifDoo PDF, you can translate a scanned PDF from any language (German, Spanish, French) to English in just a few clicks.
Step 1. Download the SwifDoo PDF and install it on your computer.
Step 2. Launch SwifDoo PDF. Choose Document Translation to translate the entire PDF. Click Open File to add the scanned PDF.
Step 3. Choose the language and select the page range. Then, select the output path.
Step 4. Finally, click Translate to English.
As a professional PDF tool, SwifDoo PDF can translate PDFs without losing formatting. In addition, it supports Quick Translation and AI Translation. The former helps you translate selected sentences, while the latter produces results more tailored to your needs, such as a specific tone of voice.
SwifDoo PDF is perfect for users who frequently need to translate scanned PDFs to English, such as students, professionals, or businesses handling multilingual documents. Download the SwifDoo PDF now and try it for free!
2. Common Way to Translate Scanned PDF to English
You may have tried to use Google Translate to translate the PDF, but you only found that it didn't work. Google Translate does translate documents but cannot translate scanned PDF documents. A scanned PDF is essentially an image and does not contain editable text. Most translation tools, including Google Translate, cannot handle such a file.
Therefore, to translate a scanned PDF into English, you should usually convert the image-based content into editable text. In this case, OCR—optical Character Recognition technology—can help.
Next, let me show you how to use Google Drive to OCR a scanned PDF and then use Google Translate to translate the document!
Step 1. OCR PDF in Google Drive
- Open a browser and go to Google Drive (https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive). Log in to your account.
- Click the “ + New” button and upload the scanned PDF.
- Then, open the PDF with Google Docs.
- Google Docs will automatically apply OCR to the scanned PDF, resulting in a searchable and editable PDF.
However, please note that Google Docs can make errors. To ensure the best results, use higher-resolution scans. In addition, Google Docs cannot handle complex formats. If there are too many errors, you can use other OCR tools. Check out this guide for more tips:
How to OCR a PDF and Recognize Text in PDF: 5 Ways in 2024
Looking to find how to OCR a PDF file? Use these 5 ways to help you OCR a PDF with a few simple steps.
READ MORE >Step 2. Translate PDF with Google Translate
- On the PDF tab, click Tools and choose Translate document.
- Choose the target language and name the file. Click Translate to start.
- Google will open the translated PDF in a new tab. Click File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf) to download the file to your computer.
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READ MORE >Conclusion
That’s all about how to translate scanned PDF to English. With SwifDoo PDF and Google Drive, anyone can translate a scanned PDF. Google Drive may suffice for occasional use, but SwifDoo PDF is a game changer for efficiency.
In addition, SwifDoo PDF offers other tools to edit, annotate, convert, and manage PDFs. If you often need to work with PDF documents, SwifDoo PDF will be a good helper.