PDF Book Translator

If you need to translate the contents of a PDF file, then probably the first thing that crosses your mind is using an online engine that also supports documents. Alternatively, you could simply select the text and paste it in the input field of a language translator. However, keep in mind that there are also numerous applications available out there that serve this purpose, some better than others. Let’s take, for instance, PDF Book Translator.

The name speaks for itself: this application is designed to make it easier for you to translate your PDF documents. Designed in Electron and pointing to what seems to be a web app, PDF Book Translator accepts any PDF file as input, translates it contents and allows you to save the output locally.

Working with PDF Book Translator is, as expected, fairly simple. You first have to browse for the documents you want to translate. While it is possible to select a bunch of PDFs at the same time and import them to PDF Book Translator, the application can only process one file at a time.

Double-clicking on any of the loaded PDF files displays its contents in the original language. There is a drop-down menu where you can select the target language, but take note that only the most popular languages are available, namely English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. Once a language gets selected, the entire text is instantly translated.

One feature worth noting is that PDF Book Translator enables you to view the loaded document in the original language and its translation side by side, for a quick comparison. You can zoom in and out the initial file and browse its pages as if you were using a dedicated PDF reader.

There is nothing much to say about PDF Book Translator. While it seems to work fine, there is no mention of the translation engine it uses, so its reliability is rather questionable. Moreover, the lack of options and the Electron-based GUI where not even the general menu items are changed to match a translation tool make it a bit shady. Nevertheless, you can try it out if you need a quick way to translate a PDF file.