Microsoft Translator Desktop

Microsoft Translator Desktop is a third-party application based on Bing's official infrastructure, that can offer you the engine's popular translator as a desktop application, with slightly more features. If you are feeling more comfortable having a dedicated app for translations instead of using the browser, this app might suit you well.

After it's done installing and you run the app for the first time, you'll notice that the interface, at least the translator part, is displayed in your native language. That of course if you are not located in the US or UK, then you won't notice a thing. As there are users who still prefer English for their computer-related work, a way of changing the language to English would've been nice if implemented. Yes, there is a language selector in the combo menu located near the minimize button, but that only affects the menu alone, not the whole app.

Also, if we are at the issues section, we have to talk about the hotkey function, which is supposed to translate your selected text instantly, by using the key combination. However, we have tried to make it work, but there is no response even if the combination is changed.

The first notable improvement over the browser version would be the extended character capacity. Online, you can translate a maximum of 3000 characters, while Microsoft Translator Desktop offers 5000. The almost 100% increase in supported words per session will surely help the user with a large workload.

The automatic detection function works as intended, providing you the exact language for excerpts of unknown text. To change the language you are translating to, you can simply switch the language from inside the second panel, or you can use the toolbar menu. Both do the same thing.

Microsoft Translator Desktop is a simple application that can do a very good job translating text, but it still needs some work regarding the language options and the hotkey issue. Apart from that, the app can surely please users who prefer the desktop version of the Bing translator.