Bilingual translation editing: how to modify the translation

Key points of this article

Before modifying, first determine whether the translation is a PDF or an editable document, and then decide whether to modify it directly or export it.
Organize the glossary first and search for old translations in the full text to avoid different translations of the same term.
The PDF editor can directly change the paragraph text. After modification, you have to return to the bilingual page to compare the original text paragraph by paragraph.
It is recommended to export large paragraphs to Word for processing, and then check the layout, formulas and charts after the modification is completed.
Numbers, units, negative words and proper nouns in machine translation must be checked against the original text one by one.

After getting the bilingual translation, many people subconsciously translate it again. In fact, the more common situation is: most of the translations can be used, but the translation of individual terms is not uniform, the meaning of a certain sentence is off, numbers or negative words are missing, or a certain paragraph needs to be changed to a statement that is more suitable for the scene. It is easier to deal with these problems after the translation is released than to re-translate.

This article talks about the method of bilingual editing of translations. It is written for those who have already obtained the translation and want to continue to revise it. The focus is not on how to produce a translation, but how to modify it after it comes out: first determine whether the file can be edited directly, then choose where to modify it, and how to check it against the original text after modification.

After reading this article, you should be able to select the editing path according to the file format, use the glossary to unify the translations, and confirm that the original text and the translated text still correspond one-to-one after the changes.

If I am not satisfied with the translation, how can I change it without having to rework it? One sentence conclusion

First determine which category the question belongs to, and then select the editing location. A small number of words and sentences are directly modified in the editable file; large paragraphs are rewritten or content that needs to be unified in batches is exported to Word for post-processing, and checked item by item based on the original text.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
Just change a few words or a sentence or two, the file is a PDF	Use PDF editor to directly modify paragraph text	No need to change the format, the layout is basically retained
To unify the full text translation	Build a glossary first, then search and replace it one by one	Avoid different translations of the same term
Rewrite large paragraphs or adjust paragraph structure	Export to Word, modify in Word or UniDoc web editor	Editable text is more complete and changes are not restricted by PDF layout
Scanned document translation, text cannot be selected	Use OCR to identify text first and then modify it	Cannot edit directly without text layer
It is necessary to keep the original text and the translation for comparison	Recheck the corresponding paragraph after revision	Changing only one side can easily cause misalignment

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Taking a few minutes to make a judgment before taking action can save you a lot of detours.

File format. Whether the translation is in an editable format such as PDF or Word determines how you can modify it. The paragraph text of the PDF can be changed, but the changes may exceed the original layout space and need to be checked again.
Can text be selected. Try selecting a text in the PDF. If it can be selected, the description file has a text layer and can be edited directly; if it cannot be selected, it is usually a scanned document and requires OCR first.
Glossary. List the original text and your desired translation of key terms. Without this table, it is easy to be inconsistent after modification, especially for long documents.
Translation style. OmniDoc allows you to choose between academic, legal, medical, technical, business, or literary styles when translating. If the overall tone is wrong and sentence-by-sentence modifications have limited effect, you can re-translate according to the corresponding style and then bring in the identified terms.
Things to check. Numbers, units, dates, names, negative words and formulas are where machine translation is prone to errors. Don’t let these contents pass just based on whether the translation is fluent or not.

Steps to edit bilingual translations in OmniDoc

Open the completed translation in omnidoc.top, or open the exported file in a desktop client, and first confirm whether it is a bilingual version or only a translation version.
Read it through, write down the areas that need to be changed, and divide them into three categories: inconsistent terminology, incorrect sentence meaning, and layout or formatting issues. After classification, the subsequent processing methods will be clearer.
Organize a glossary and indicate the original text and unified translation for each term. Then search the translation for the old translation and identify all occurrences.
If the file is a PDF, open it with a PDF editor on the desktop client and directly modify the text of the translation paragraph. This step is usually enough when you only need to change one or two things. It is recommended to move only one side of the translation, leaving the original text unchanged.
If you need to rewrite a large section, export the file to Word format and modify it in Word or UniDoc web editor (app.unidoc.top). After modification, save it as a new file. Do not overwrite the original translation to facilitate future comparison.
After modification, compare the original text paragraph by paragraph to confirm that each translation still corresponds to the correct original paragraph, and there are no serial, missing or repeated paragraphs.
After confirming the delivery version, export it again and retain the original translation for future verification or modification.

Check each item after completion

After the modification is completed, do not rush to deliver it, go through the following list.

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Terminology consistent	Use the search function to search for old translations to see if there are any remaining	Correct the missing positions and update the glossary
Paragraph correspondence	Pick a few paragraphs at random and compare them with the original text to see if they have the same meaning.	If misaligned, go back to the original paragraph and readjust it.
Numbers and units	Compare numbers, percent signs, units and dates in the original text item by item	Corrected based on the original text
Negative and conditional words	Check whether "not", "not", "unless", "only if", etc. are retained	Sentences with reversed meaning should be rewritten
format	Check whether the modified paragraphs are beyond the original position and whether the tables are misplaced.	Shorten the wording of the translation, or export it to Word, adjust it, and then export it to PDF.
Formulas and Charts	Make sure that the formulas and text in the pictures have not been mistakenly changed.	Do not change the formula area manually. Return to the original translation or regenerate it.

🎯 Which method is suitable for you?

For coursework or internal reading, just correct a few mistranslations: Modify directly in the PDF editor and save, no need to export.
If you want to send it to others or use it for publication, you need to unify the terminology and make a lot of changes: Export to Word, build a glossary first, and then check the full text after making the changes.
Contract, medical or legal texts: After modification, please review it with someone with the corresponding professional background. Do not rely solely on machine translation.
Requires collaborative modification by multiple people: Word files are easier to circulate and modify among multiple people, and PDF is more suitable for distribution as the final version.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What should I do if the format is messed up after modifying the PDF translation?

As the number of translated words increases, the paragraph may extend beyond its original position. You can shorten the wording first, and if it still exceeds the limit, export it to Word and then export it as PDF.

2. The same term has been translated differently before and after. How can I change it in one go?

First search for each old translation in the translation and list all positions. After determining the unified translation, replace it one by one, and record it in the glossary to facilitate reuse in subsequent documents.

3. Can only the translation side be changed in the bilingual version?

It is recommended to change only one side of the translation, leaving the original text unchanged. Before modifying, make sure you are modifying the translation paragraph, and then check the corresponding relationship between left and right or top and bottom after modification.

4. Why can’t the translation of the scanned PDF be modified?

Scans are usually just images, with no editable text layer. Use OCR to identify the text first, and then modify it. After modification, you still need to check it with the original text paragraph by paragraph.

📝 Summary

The key to bilingual translation editing is to first determine the file format, and then decide whether to modify it directly or export it. After modification, check the terms, numbers, negative words and paragraph correspondences one by one. Especially the machine-translated content must be based on the original text. Processing in this order can significantly reduce rework.

Open OmniDoc, upload the document and start translation