LaTeX source code package bilingual translation: how to preserve formulas and compilation structures

Key points of this article

Pack the main file, chapter files, pictures and reference files together before translation. If a picture is missing, the translation will be missing a picture.
When you need to compare and review paragraph by paragraph, choose bilingual comparison. When you only need to read the general idea, choose translation only, and keep the original source code for traceability.
The content of the formula should be consistent with the original text. Superscripts, subscripts, fractions, and matrices should be checked one by one. If any inconsistency is found, return to the source code to correct it and resubmit.
Numbering, cross-references and references are easily misplaced parts. When checking, you should check the labels and reference commands in the source code.

If you have a LaTeX source code package in your hand, such as a paper for submission, a lecture note or course notes with a lot of formulas, and you want a Chinese-English reading version, the real trouble is often not the translation itself, but whether the formulas will be scrambled, whether the numbering and cross-references will be misplaced, and whether the tables and figures can match the original text. Throwing PDF directly into ordinary translation tools often results in formulas becoming garbled characters, paragraphs in disordered order, and even pictures being shifted.

This article is for researchers, students, and technical writers who need to read or review LaTeX manuscripts. After reading, you will know: how to prepare the source code package, how to choose between bilingual comparison and translation only, which areas must be checked item by item after uploading, and how to remedy problems if they occur.

The advantage of LaTeX is that it is structured source code, with clear boundaries for formulas, commands and environments. OmniDoc supports direct processing of LaTeX source code packages, retaining formulas and formatting during output, and can choose bilingual side-by-side or translation only. The key is to prepare the source code package completely, choose the correct output format, and then carefully check the results.

Bilingual comparison or just translation? One sentence conclusion

If you want to review it paragraph by paragraph, compare it with the original text, or discuss it in the team, choose bilingual comparison; if you only want to deliver the Chinese version to readers, choose translation only, and save the original source code separately for easy review in the future.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
Check whether the translation is accurate paragraph by paragraph	bilingual comparison	The original text and the translated text are side by side, and formulas and paragraphs can be directly compared.
Just read the gist	Translation only	Cleaner layout and more coherent reading
To be reviewed by a mentor or collaborator	bilingual comparison	The other party can see the correspondence between terms and sentences without opening another manuscript.
After translation, you need to continue to revise	Only the translation is used as the starting point, and the source code is saved separately.	The translation is easy to edit, and the source code is still the traceable original.
The source code structure is complex and there are many custom macros	First, try bilingual comparison on a small scale	First confirm that there are no problems with the formulas and numbers, and then process the full text

# before you start: confirm these points first

- whether the source code package is complete : the main .tex files, chapter files referenced by\ input or\ include, pictures and .bib reference files should all be put in the same package. Without a picture, the picture in the translation will be missing, and it is difficult to find it at a glance. - whether the manuscript can be compiled locally : if the manuscript itself reports an error, the translation result will also bring problems. First use your usual compilation environment to compile once, make sure that the PDF can be generated normally, and then translate. - how many custom macros and special environments : the more custom commands, theorem environments, and algorithm environments, the more you need to check whether they are still displayed correctly after the translation. This kind of content can be listed in the source code and checked item by item. - whether terms need to be unified : domain terms (such as "regularization" and "order of convergence") want the full text translation to be consistent, and it is recommended to translate a glossary. OmniDoc offers academic, legal, medical, technical, business, literary and other style options. Choose one that matches your manuscript to help keep the terminology and tone consistent. - whether the manuscript involves confidentiality *: for unpublished papers or internal technical documents, confirm whether they are suitable for online service processing before uploading. When more stringent local management is required, the desktop client can be used and the download address is download.omnidoc.top.

# steps for translating LaTeX Source Code package in OmniDoc

organize the source folder : put the main .tex, chapter files, pictures and .bib into the same folder, remove the irrelevant temporary files, and then compress them into a package. The folder level should not be too deep, and the picture path should be consistent with the writing in the source code.
Open omnidoc.top**: to enter the document translation feature, and upload the LaTeX source code package you just packaged.
choose language and style *: choose Chinese in the target language, choose the style according to the nature of the manuscript, and choose the academic style for academic papers.
Select output mode : select bilingual control when you need to compare paragraph by paragraph, and display the original text and translation side by side; select only translation when you only need Chinese reading version.
submit and wait for completion : wait for the task to finish after submission. The longer the length, the longer the processing time, do not close the page while waiting, so as not to get the results.
download the results and initially view : first open the file to see the overall layout, confirm whether the number of pages, chapter order and pictures are generally normal, and then enter itemized check.
if you need to continue to modify, open it in the UniDoc Page Editor : the UniDoc Page Editor (app.unidoc.top) supports round-trip editing of LaTeX, which is suitable for further text adjustments to the translation.
recompile in the original environment : put the source code corresponding to the translation back into your compilation environment and compile it completely. This step is completed only if it can be compiled and the PDF layout is normal.

# check item by item after completion

After getting the results, it is recommended to check them one by one according to the table below, instead of just looking at the overall layout.

Check item	What do you think?	What if there's a problem?
Formula	Check the completeness of formulas, superscripts, fractions, matrices and Greek letters one by one against the original manuscript.	If the formula is inconsistent, go back to the source code to correct the corresponding position, and then resubmit
Numbering and citation	Do the numbers of equations, diagrams, tables, and references such as "as shown in formula (3)" in the text match the original manuscript?	The misalignment of numbers is usually related to the labels and reference commands in the source code. Check whether\ label and\ ref are complete and duplicate.
Pictures and annotations	Whether all the pictures appear, and whether the annotation corresponds to the position of the picture.	When the image is missing, check whether the image path in the compressed package is consistent with the writing in\ includegraphics.
Form	Whether the number of rows, columns, merged cells and numbers are consistent with the original table	Compare the numbers one by one, not just look at the neatness of the layout
reference	Whether the entries are complete, whether the author's name and the title of the paper retain the original text.	The references are usually based on the original, and if there are any changes in the translation, they should be changed back to the original.
Professional terminology	Is the translation of the same concept consistent in the full text?	Confirm the scope before global replacement to avoid mischanging the variable names in the formula
Compilation result	Compile the source code of the translation with the original environment to see if the error is reported.	When reporting an error, first look at the log to find the error line number. In most cases, the structure of the source code has been accidentally changed.

Errors are inevitable in machine translation. Please confirm the key conclusions, definitions and values sentence by sentence against the original text, and do not quote directly from the translation alone.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. Only PDF, no LaTeX source code, can you still use this method?

It can't be copied completely. When there is no source code, the structural information of numbers, references, and formulas is incomplete. You can first try to select a paragraph in PDF: if you can select a digital version, you can upload and translate it directly; if you cannot select it, you can also upload it, but the formula and layout should be checked more carefully.

2. Will the variables in the formula be translated?

The formula is retained as layout content in the output, and normally the variable name should be the same as the original text. However, this point still needs to be checked one by one, especially the symbols such as x, y, θ, which are easy to be misread in the translation, go back to the source code to correct if they find inconsistencies.

3. There are many custom macros in the source code package, will it affect the result?

It might. The more custom macros, the higher the probability of exceptions in the translation. It is recommended to use one of the chapters to do a small-scale test run, make sure that there is no problem with the formula and number, and then deal with the full text.

4. Can online converters replace this process?

Online converters usually focus on format conversion, such as converting LaTeX to another document format. Translation and translation are two different things. If the goal is to retain the Chinese-English reading version of the formula, you should select the document translation process and check it item by item according to the table above after the results come out.

5. Can the translated file be transferred back to Word?

You can export PDF as Word or Excel or PowerPoint in the PDF editor of the desktop client. However, complex formulas and multi-column typesetting may change after conversion, and you still need to check against the original after export.

# Summary

The key to the bilingual translation of LaTeX source code package lies in three points: the source code package should be packaged completely, the output mode should be selected according to the needs of review or reading, and the formula, number, chart and compilation result should be checked item by item after the result comes out. If you do these steps well, the Chinese-English version can really be used for reading and review.

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