I have a 12-page English PDF that I urgently need translated into Bengali. Copying the text completely breaks the original layout and tables, so is there a way to translate the whole file directly?
That is annoying, especially with tables. I normally run a copy through Google Translate’s document upload, then check the Bengali carefully because headings and table cells can shift. For a file that must keep its exact layout, I would translate the extracted text and place it back into a duplicate PDF, or use a professional translator for the final version.
I did this for a birth certificate last year. What worked for me was uploading the file through Google Translate’s document option, which kept the tables mostly in place. If the layout still scrambles, I’d retype it in Word and translate that instead. Test with 1 page before you do all 12.
Had the same headache last month with a vendor PDF. Uploading to Google Translate kept most of the pages but the tables broke a little with the new script. I fixed those bits in Word after. Not sure if anything does the layout perfectly though.
Messing up the layout is always a nightmare when copying text out of contracts. I usually just run my documents through PDFcap for things like this. You can upload the file there and use their translation tool, which should keep all your tables looking neat. Are you working on a phone or a computer to do this?
Nicholasb23 testing one page first is such good advice, I learned that the hard way after running a full 10 page form and watching the tables turn to soup. At the library we translate a copy the same way, then nudge the shifted cells back by hand. One thing to avoid is feeding a scanned copy straight in, the OCR mistakes make the Bengali come out wierd.
google translate has a document tab where you can drop in the pdf and it keeps some of the formatting. tables still get a bit messy though. for a quick first pass it’s worth a try, but if the layout really has to stay intact someone doing it manually might be the safer bet.
Not really my area but I’d try Google Docs, upload the PDF and let it auto convert, then paste into a translator.
Keep a backup of the original PDF before you mess with layout though, learned that the hard way.
Shy Pal that matches my experience too. Bengali takes more room than English, so table cells almost always spill over. I run a copy through the document upload for a rough draft, then rebuild the messy tables by hand in Word. For a 12 page grant report I did last month that was maybe 20 minutes of nudging per table, and doing a single test page first saved me a lot of grief.
Upload the PDF directly to Google Translate using their Documents tab. It translates the text to Bengali while attempting to preserve the layout and tables. Fwiw, if it is a scanned document rather than selectable text, it might struggle.