Translate PDF
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Select a PDF
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Accepted formats: PDF
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Quick facts
- What it does
- Translates the text of a PDF and puts the translation back in the same place on the same pages.
- Input
- Output
- Processing
- On our server
- Files uploaded?
- Yes, temporarily
- Account required?
- No
- Best for
- Letters, notices, forms, flyers and short reports you need to read or share in another language.
- Main limitation
- Up to 20 pages. English, Arabic, French, German and Spanish. Machine translation: check names, numbers and anything legal or medical with a person.
How to use this tool
- Choose the PDF you want translated.
- Pick the language to translate it into. Its own language is detected automatically.
- Press “Translate PDF” and wait — a long document takes a minute or two.
- Download the translated PDF and read it through before you use it.
Why use iBuildPDF
Copying a document into a translator gives you a wall of text and loses every heading, column, table and picture. Here you get the same pages back, laid out as before, so a letter still looks like a letter and a brochure like a brochure.
How it works
The text of each page is read with its position, size, colour and weight. It is translated on our own server by open translation models — the document is never sent to a translation company. The original words are then taken off the page, leaving the drawings, colours and pictures exactly as they were, and the translation is written into the same boxes, a little smaller where it runs longer. Scanned pages are read with OCR first. Machine translation can be wrong, so have anything important checked by a person.
Frequently asked questions
Does it keep the layout?
Yes. Headings, columns, tables, colours, logos and photos stay where they are; only the words change. A translation that is longer than the original is set a little smaller so it fits its box.
Which languages can I translate between?
English, Arabic, French, German and Spanish, in any direction. The document’s own language is detected; if it is detected wrongly, choose it under Advanced options.
Is my document sent to Google or another translation service?
No. The translation runs on our own server with open models, and the server is not allowed to reach the internet while it works. The file is deleted when the job finishes.
How good is the translation?
Good enough to understand a document and often to share it, but it is a machine translation: it can miss a meaning, a name or a tone. For contracts, medical papers or anything official, have the result checked by a qualified translator.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes, for up to 10 scanned pages: the words are read with OCR, painted out with the colour around them and the translation is written in their place. A clear scan gives a better result.