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User Guide > File types > What is PDF Direct?

PDF Direct

PDF Direct automatically extracts texts from PDF documents and return translated PDF files keeping layout formatting, background images, graphics or colors unchanged.

When you select PDF files for translation at WiseTranslate.net, it prompts you options to choose. You can choose PDF Direct or just plain-text option.

PDF Direct requires special technologies to extract texts, OCR and reconstruct PDF with translated text. PDF Direct is paid service. Please see Pricing page for details.

How to use PDF Direct

As PDF Direct requires special processing at server-side, additional steps are included.

  1. Select your PDF files and choose PDF Direct option.
  2. < Server > When PDF file processing is completed, an email notification will be sent to you.
  3. Upon receipt of the email, access your order at WiseTranslate.net and request translation.
  4. < Server > When translation and re-construction of PDF are completed, an email notification will be sent to you.
  5. Upon receipt of the email, access your order at WiseTranslate.net and download translated PDF.

When you select scanned PDF, it will go through OCR processing. OCR quality is excellent but MT quality for OCRed texts may not be as good as you would expect for MT. This is mainly due to the fact that OCR does not segment phrases, sentences or paragraphs properly. Therefore, we do not recommend MT for OCRed texts.

Sample of MT with PDF Direct

Sample of MT with "Plain Text" mode

If you choose "Plain Text" mode for PDF, plain text file is returned as translation result.

Font settings for translated PDF

When translated texts are inserted back to PDF to reconstruct translated PDF, font settings are required. PDF file has fonts embedded but only embeds fonts of characters used in the PDF. This means that fonts for translated texts are missing in the original PDF. Thus, someone has to set the fonts for translated texts. This process is taken care by our engineers for you.

We'll substitute fonts using one of default fonts of the language such as Arial or Gulim. If your PDFs have special characters or symbols that are not included in the default fonts, they may be displayed broken.