OmniDocHow to Make a Bilingual PDF Side by Side
Learn how to turn an existing PDF into a side-by-side bilingual or translation-only file in OmniDoc, keeping layout, tables and images intact.
If you have a PDF in one language and need a version that readers can follow in another, you have two common options: retype the text or copy it into a separate file. Both are slow, and both usually break the layout, tables and figures. A bilingual PDF translation keeps the original structure and adds the translated text next to it, so reviewers, colleagues or students can compare the two without flipping between files.
This guide is for anyone who needs a bilingual PDF: a researcher sharing a paper with a non-English reader, a team circulating a contract, or a teacher preparing course material. It walks through turning an existing PDF into a side-by-side bilingual file, or a translation-only file, using OmniDoc's document translation. You will also learn what to check before you send the result.
The short version: upload the PDF, choose bilingual side-by-side output, and review the file before sharing it. The rest of this article explains the details.
How do you make a bilingual PDF side by side? The short answer
Upload your PDF to OmniDoc, choose the bilingual side-by-side output, and check the result before you share it.
| Your situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You need the original and translation to sit next to each other for review | Choose bilingual side-by-side output | Readers can compare each passage with its source without switching files |
| You only need the translated text for distribution | Choose translation-only output | The file is shorter and easier to circulate to people who do not read the source |
| Your PDF is a scan of a printed page | Upload it as is | OmniDoc supports scanned PDFs for translation |
| Your document is a contract, paper or manual | Pick the matching style (legal, academic or technical) | The style setting helps wording suit the type of text |
| The document uses the same term many times | Check term consistency in the output | A term that changes between pages can confuse readers |
Before you start
A few checks at the beginning save you from re-running the job later.
- Confirm you have the right source file. Use the final version of the PDF. Translating an old draft means you will need to translate again after every change.
- Decide which output you need. Bilingual side-by-side is useful for review and comparison. Translation-only is better for a clean copy to share. Choosing before you upload keeps the process simple.
- Know the language pair. Note the source language and the target language. Language is a basic setting, and a mismatch means you get the wrong result.
- Check whether the text is selectable. Open the PDF and try selecting one line of text with your cursor. If you can highlight it, the PDF has a text layer. If you cannot, it is probably a scan. Scanned files are supported, but the output quality depends on how clear the scan is, so look at a few pages before you upload.
- Look at the tables and figures. Note any dense tables, equations or charts. These are the parts that often need a closer look afterward, so you know where to focus your check.
Translating the whole PDF in OmniDoc, step by step
- Open OmniDoc. Go to omnidoc.top in your browser, or use the OmniDoc desktop client if you have it installed. The steps are the same in both.
- Upload your PDF. Add the file you prepared. Digital and scanned PDFs both work, so you do not need to convert a scan into text first.
- Set the source and target languages. Tell OmniDoc what language the document is written in and what language you want the output in. Double-check both, since a wrong language pair produces a poor translation.
- Choose a style. Pick the option closest to your text: academic, legal, medical, technical, business or literary. A contract reads differently from a research paper, and the style setting helps the wording fit.
- Choose the output format. Select bilingual side-by-side if you want the original and translation together, or translation-only if you want just the translated text. Both options keep the layout, tables and pictures.
- Start the translation and wait for it to finish. Leave the page open until the job completes. Longer documents take more time, so plan for that if you have a deadline.
- Download the result. Save the finished PDF to your computer. Keep the original file too, so you can compare against it.
- Open the file and review it. Go straight to the checks in the next section before sharing the file with anyone else.
Check the result
Machine translation is a strong starting point, but it can still make mistakes. Check the important parts before you send the file, especially if it is a contract, a medical document or a paper that will be published. Use this table as a checklist.
| Check | How to see it | If it's wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Layout matches the original | Scroll through several pages and compare headings, columns and page breaks with the source | Re-run the job with the other output option, then compare again |
| Tables are complete and readable | Open each table and confirm every row and column is present | Check the source table to see whether it was cut off or complex in the original |
| Images, charts and formulas are present | Look at each figure and equation next to its caption or text | Confirm the source image is clear; if a figure is missing, go back to the original file and re-run the job |
| Key terms are consistent | Search the translated text for two or three important terms and confirm they match | Note the wrong terms and correct them in the PDF editor |
| Paragraphs line up in side-by-side output | Pick a paragraph and check that its translation sits beside the correct source text | Re-run the job with the correct output option selected |
| Scanned pages are readable | Zoom in on pages with small text or poor scan quality | If the text is unclear, try OCR in the PDF editor and upload the result for translation |
If only a few sentences are wrong, you do not need to translate the whole file again. Open the PDF in the PDF editor, edit the paragraph text in place, and save the corrected version. This is often faster than re-running the full job, especially for a long document.
Keep a note of recurring errors. If the same term is wrong on every page, fix it once in the editor and search the whole document for other instances.
Which output should you share?
The format you share depends on who will read it. A bilingual side-by-side file works well for reviewers who need to check the translation against the original. A translation-only file is the better choice for readers who do not need the source text, such as a client who only reads the target language.
If you are not sure, produce both versions. Keep the side-by-side file for your own review and send the translation-only file to readers who need a clean copy. This avoids handing out a long file with the source text that the reader does not need.
❓ FAQ
1. What is a bilingual document?
A bilingual document shows the same content in two languages. In a side-by-side version, each passage of the original appears next to its translation, so a reader can compare them directly. This is common in legal agreements, academic papers and training material.
2. Can I get only the translated text without the original?
Yes. Choose the translation-only output when you upload the PDF. The result contains the translated document with its layout, tables and images kept, but without the source text beside it.
3. Does a scanned PDF work for bilingual translation?
Scanned PDFs are supported, so you can upload one as it is. Output quality depends on scan clarity, so check pages with small or faint text carefully. If the text is hard to read, OCR in the PDF editor can make it selectable before you upload it again.
4. What should I do if a table comes out broken?
Start by comparing the table with the original to see whether it was complex or partly unreadable in the source. If the source is fine, re-run the job with the other output option and check again. For small corrections, edit the affected text in the PDF editor.
📝 Summary
A bilingual PDF translation gives readers the original and the translated text in one file, with the layout, tables and images kept. Upload your PDF to OmniDoc, choose side-by-side or translation-only output, and then check tables, figures and key terms before you share it. Machine translation can still make mistakes, so review the important passages yourself.
