How to modify the translation after translating foreign language documents?

Key points of this article

Before modifying, check whether the text can be selected in the translation. If it can be selected, you can edit it directly. The scanned document must be OCRed first.
When only changing a few wordings, you can modify the paragraph in situ in the PDF editor to retain the original layout.
Large sections of polish can be exported to Word for processing, and then converted back to PDF if necessary.
Save an original copy before modification. You can roll back after correcting errors. It is also convenient to use the comparison function to check the differences.
A glossary of terms plus a paragraph-by-paragraph comparison with the original text is a practical way to unify translations and eliminate missed translations.

If you have just finished using a translation tool to process an English paper, you will probably find that the overall meaning is readable, but some terms are not translated correctly, some sentences read awkwardly, and some paragraphs even miss a sentence. At this time, many people will want to translate it again, but the new translation will bring new problems.

This article is written for graduate students and researchers who need to submit assignments, write reviews, or report to their supervisors. What we are discussing is how to modify the translation of foreign documents: after getting the translation, how to locate the problem, change the wording in the original layout, and ensure that the changes can be verified.

After reading, you will get a fixed process: first determine what format the translation is in, then decide whether to modify it directly in the PDF or export it and modify it later, and finally check it item by item.

Which method is used to modify the translation? One sentence conclusion

The key to revising a translation is to first look at what format you have, and then choose a modification method that preserves the layout. If the translation is a PDF, give priority to directly modifying the paragraphs in the PDF editor; if large sections need to be rewritten, then export to Word for processing.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
The translation is a PDF, just need to change a few wordings	Modify paragraph text directly in the PDF editor	Keep the original layout and make changes in a concentrated manner without re-layout
The translation is a PDF and requires large sections of rewriting or polishing.	Export to Word, modify, and then convert back to PDF if necessary	Long paragraph editing is more convenient in word processing software
The original text is a scanned PDF, and the text cannot be selected.	Use OCR to identify text first and then modify it	Cannot edit directly without text layer
Need to keep bilingual comparison	When modifying, check the left and right columns at the same time, and then export after modification.	Avoid changing only one side, causing the two columns to misalign.
Show the instructor the traces of modifications	Save the original version before modification, and use the comparison function to compare after modification.	Can clearly list what has been changed

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Confirm the translation format. Open the file and try to select a piece of text with the mouse. If it can be selected, it means there is a text layer and can be edited directly; if it cannot be selected, it is probably a scanned document and requires OCR first. If you determine the format incorrectly, all subsequent steps will be wasted time.
Save a copy of the original translation. Make a copy before modifying. You can go back when correcting a wrong paragraph, and you can also use it for comparison after the modification is completed.
Prepare a glossary. List the keywords, abbreviations and first-appearing translations in the paper. When revising, it is easy to have different translations of the same term, so a glossary can quickly unify it.
Please refer to the original text to confirm the meaning. Machine translation may cause mistranslations or omissions, and it is not enough to just see whether the Chinese can be read smoothly. Please refer to the original text for important paragraphs sentence by sentence, and do not change them just based on your feelings.
Clear the end use. The formatting requirements for manuscript submission, defense and coursework are different, which determines whether you need to retain bilingual comparisons and original figure numbers.

Steps to directly modify the translation paragraph in OmniDoc

Download and open the OmniDoc desktop client (download address: download.omnidoc.top), enter the PDF editor, and load the translation PDF.
If it is a scanned version, first use the OCR function to recognize the text so that the text can be selected and edited. After recognition, please check it against the scanned image. OCR will also make errors.
Find the paragraph that needs to be modified and edit the paragraph text directly at the original position. Only change the wording in this step, do not change the position of the paragraph to avoid confusion in the format.
Revise terms and sentences paragraph by paragraph. Check the glossary to unify the translation. If you encounter a sentence that is too long, you can split it into two sentences or adjust the word order to make the Chinese more natural.
Save each chapter after editing to avoid problems and being unable to go back after long-term editing.
Check whether formulas, figure numbers, table numbers, and references are affected. These contents generally do not need to be rewritten. If they are mistakenly modified, they must be withdrawn or restored from a copy in time.
If you need extensive polishing, export the PDF to Word format and modify it in word processing software. Once you're done, convert back to the PDF version if you need it.
Save the final version as a new file, and mark the date or version number in the file name, such as "Thesis Translation_Revised Version_0520" for easy identification.

Check each item after completion

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Is the terminology unified?	Use the search function or read through to check the translation of keywords in the full text	Go back to the glossary and replace each one
Are there any missing paragraphs or extra paragraphs?	Compare it with the original text paragraph by paragraph to check the number of paragraphs	Supplementary translation or deletion, and return to the original text location for confirmation
Whether the layout is maintained	Flip through a few pages at random and check the headers, page numbers, columns and picture positions	Redo the page from a saved copy
Are the formulas and charts intact?	Check formula symbols, figure numbers, table numbers	Revert to the original content, do not rewrite it based on the translation
Check whether there are any omissions in the modification	Use the compare function to compare the original copy with the modified version	Confirm one by one according to the difference list

📊 Core comparison

There are usually three ways to modify a translation, and they are suitable for different scenarios:

Way	Suitable situation	advantage	Things to note
Change paragraphs directly in PDF	Individual wording and terminology adjustments	The original layout remains unchanged, and changes can be made quickly	Editing will not be smooth when the paragraph is too long
Modify after exporting to Word	Rewriting large sections and polishing the language	More flexible word processing, suitable for long paragraphs	The typesetting after conversion may be different from the original version.
Retranslate the entire paragraph and revise it	The entire paragraph deviates from the original text	Can be reorganized using another expression	The new translation still needs to be checked sentence by sentence against the original text.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. The translation is a scanned copy, what should I do if I can’t change it?

Use OCR to identify the text layer first, and then edit it. There may be typos in the recognition results. Please compare them with the scanned images section by section before modifying them.

2. The layout is messed up after modification. Can it be restored?

If you saved the original copy before modifying it, simply redo the page from the copy. When there is no copy, try to go back to the previous step to avoid continuing to superimpose changes.

3. The entire translation is unreadable. Should I re-translate it or modify it manually?

It's just that some sentences don't go smoothly, so it's faster to change them manually. If the entire paragraph deviates from the original text, it is recommended to re-translate the paragraph and then revise it according to the original text.

4. How do I explain to my instructor what I have changed?

Use the compare function to compare the original copy and the modified version, list the differences, and attach it to the description. This makes it clearer than verbal description.

5. Can a universal chatbot be used to polish the translation?

A paragraph can be given to a generic chatbot for polishing, but it may change the professional meaning. The polished content should be returned to the original text and checked sentence by sentence to confirm that the terms and data have not changed before putting it back into the document.

📝 Summary

The core of how to modify the translation of foreign documents is to first determine the format of the translation, then choose a method that can preserve the layout, and finally check it item by item with the original text using a glossary. Save a copy before making changes and use the comparison function to check after making changes, so that the translation will be smooth and reliable.

Open OmniDoc and use the PDF editor to work with your document