Translate PDF and keep pictures

**SCEtoAUX** · #1 03-24-2017, 08:31 AM

Some of the pdf instructions for a model are in a language other than your native tongue and can be difficult to understand. In some cases the instruction have pictures accompaning the text that help in understanding what to do. You can usually copy the text and get it translated, but you have no pictures to go along.
Here is a way to generate a translated page and keep the pictures associated with the text. Looks like you need to use the Chrome browser.

RavinZ Blog: Translating the language of PDF documents while preserving formatting
The instruction there say translate to English but the translation might depend on what the native language is you have selected in Chrome for Google Translate .

There is a link to this page:

https://cloudconvert.com/pdf-to-html

It limits your conversions if you do not register. There is a free registration so you can convert what looks like 25 files but if you want to do more conversions than that you need to pay a fee.

Once you open the generated html document in Chrome and translate it you can then print to pdf or whatever you want. Make sure you scroll to each page to get the entire document translated and make sure you choose a page size to match so you don't get weird page breaks.

As an example I have used it to translate the German intructions from this page wediul.de - Ausschneidebögen Ruine Maria Hilf bei Mühlheim/Donau (M 1:160 - N) to English and save it as a pdf. You mouse over Anleitung and check at the lower left to make sure the link is a pdf then right click and Save Link Location to copy the URL. You then paste that into the appropriate location on the Cloud Convert page.

You still do get some weird translations, though. You could try saving it as a word processor document and try for a better translation.

**SCEtoAUX** · #2 03-24-2017, 02:54 PM

I went looking and found a bunch of other places to convert a pdf into html so you don't have to use that CloudConvert site. Find one that you feel more comfortable with to use. Translating the html document using the Chrome browser still seems to be the way to go.

**bpgeygolpher** · #3 03-25-2017, 08:08 AM

Thanks for the post.

Unfortunately it did not work for me. Maybe you have a suggestion. I am trying to translate the instructions for building a locomotive that is currently on the Japanese Canon site. Any ideas are appreciated.

Paul

**SCEtoAUX** · #4 03-25-2017, 09:46 AM

What probably happened with those instructions is the text is not actually text but a picture of text so the conversion to html just converts a graphic. In order to translate the page using Chrome there needs to be actual text.

You could try taking a snapshot of the page and finding an online OCR site to see if that will convert the picture of the words into text then translate that.

**bpgeygolpher** · #5 03-25-2017, 01:43 PM

I believe you are correct.

I actually think I can work with just the pictures. However I don't have any idea what the different colored dots mean. I assume they are glue spots but as to why there are red, green, and blue dots is a mystery to me. Maybe each different color refers to using a different type of glue?

If anyone can translate only that for me it will be greatly appreciated.
See the attachment page in my previous post.

Thanks,

Paul

**rickstef** · #6 03-25-2017, 01:58 PM

To me the different colored dots are for either sub assemblies or parts which will cover other parts

**bpgeygolpher** · #7 03-25-2017, 02:56 PM

I had not considered that, thanks.

**bpgeygolpher** · #8 03-25-2017, 03:11 PM

I did get it converted using an on-line OCR reader then ran it through Google translate. Of course none of the drawings made it but as I was only trying to determine what the different colors of circles indicated, it worked just fine. Every day I learn something new while pursuing this hobby. Of course by next week I will have forgotten all of this and will have to start over again. Getting old remains an adventure.

FYI. the translation follows;

Margin (red circle) Adhesion with other numbers, other parts -
Margin (green circle) Adhesion within the same part ●
Margin (blue circle) Adhesive to the other side of the part.

Thanks Doug and Rick.

Paul

**SCEtoAUX** · #9 03-25-2017, 03:14 PM

Here is a machine translation:
● (red circle) Adhesion with the same numbers, other parts
● (green circle) Adhesion in the same parts
● (blue circle) Adhesive to the back of other parts
Now all you have to do is decipher that information.

**SCEtoAUX** · #10 03-26-2017, 06:34 AM

About those dots, check out some of the English instructions from the Canon Creative Park II site. They have those same dots with a better translation.

I found a site that will translate a pdf directly and maintain the formatting. You do not have to convert to html, just upload the pdf and have it translated. You can then save the pdf.
Online Doc Translator