How to translate a PDF without breaking its layout
Plain-text translation gives you a wall of text. Layout-preserving translation gives you a usable document. Here's the difference.
Translating a PDF means doing two things at once: rendering the text in another language, and rebuilding a document that still looks like a document. Most online translators get the first part right and the second part wrong — they hand you back a wall of plain text.
How pdfcraft ai's translator handles layout
We extract the text along with layout coordinates, group it into translation-coherent units (paragraph, table cell, heading), translate each unit while keeping structural context, then re-typeset the translated text into the original layout boxes. When the translation runs longer than the source, we adjust line spacing or font size by 2-3% to fit.
Choose the right tone
Formal vs neutral vs conversational changes how 'you' is translated and how nouns are gendered in romance languages. HR handbooks need formal; marketing copy needs conversational. Set this in the Options panel before clicking Translate.
Provide a glossary for protected terms
Brand names, product codes, role titles shouldn't be translated. Upload a CSV with English/native pairs so each language version uses the right canonical names.
When AI translation isn't enough
Privacy notices, employment contracts, safety warnings, and most legal documents need a sworn translator's review. Use AI for the draft and a human for the certification.
Posts authored collectively by the pdfcraft ai team — release notes, infrastructure updates, and editorial content where no single author is the right attribution. Read more →