How to translate Google Docs, and what to do with a scanned file

How to translate a document in Google Docs

1. Open the document in Google Docs on a computer. The menu item is in the desktop version of Docs.
2. Click Tools, then Translate document. A small window opens for the new copy.
3. Name the copy and choose the language. Type a title for the translated document and pick the target language.
4. Click Translate. A translated copy opens in a new window. It is also saved in your Google Drive.

These are the steps on Google's help page[1]. Your original stays as it was, and the translation is a separate document you can edit and share.

Why Translate document is missing from the Tools menu

If Translate document is not in the Tools menu, the file is probably open in Microsoft Office editing mode. Google's fix is to convert the file to Google Docs format first[1]. A .docx you uploaded to Drive often opens this way.

A PDF or an image cannot be translated from the Tools menu directly. It has to become a Google Doc first, and for a scan that means OCR.

Translating a scanned PDF through Google Drive and Docs

Google Drive reads PDFs and photos (.jpeg, .png and .gif) with OCR when you right-click the file and choose Open with Google Docs[2]. Google advises files of 2 MB or smaller, text at least 10 pixels high and pages turned right side up[2]. The result is a Google Doc you can then translate with Tools, Translate document.

The catch is the layout. Google's help page says bold, italics, font size and line breaks are likely to be kept, but lists, tables, columns, footnotes and endnotes are not likely to be detected[2]. On a birth certificate, a transcript or a bank statement, the tables carry the meaning, so the translated copy needs rebuilding by hand.

Google Translate's own Documents tab is no shortcut. It takes PDFs up to 10 MB and 300 pages, but text in scanned pages appears in the output untranslated[3].

Google Docs and LoreAI side by side

When Google Docs is enough

Google Docs translation is free and takes four clicks. For a document you typed in Docs, a letter, notes or a draft, it gives you a translated copy you can fix and share in the same place. Teams that already work in Drive keep everything in one account.

When LoreAI saves you the rebuild

LoreAI starts from the scan or the phone photo. It reads the page with OCR, detects the language, translates into any of 105 languages and rebuilds the page in Word. Headings, lists and tables stay in their original order, names, dates and numbers stay as written, and stamps and handwriting are read with the printed text.

• For a document you typed in Google Docs, use Tools, Translate document.
• For a scan of one page of plain text, Drive OCR and Docs translation work.
• For a scanned certificate, form or statement with tables, use LoreAI and open the result in Word or upload it back to Docs.

Neither one certifies a translation

LoreAI is not a certified translation service, and Google Docs is not one either. For USCIS, the translator certifies that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate the language[4]. Read how to get a certified translation for the steps.

Questions people ask