Multi-language translation of instructions: translated into multiple languages at once

Key points of this article

• Freeze the source file version first, and then translate it after finalizing it. Otherwise, every change will make the translated language expire.
• Make a unified glossary before translation, keep only one translation for each component name and button name, and mark the applicable languages.
• German and French texts are usually longer than Chinese texts. After translation, tables, illustrations and page numbers must be checked page by page.
• Safety warnings, parameters and units must be checked one by one by native speakers, and machine translation results cannot be published directly.

If your product is to be sold in China, Germany, France and Japan at the same time, the instructions usually need to be published in multiple languages. The approach of many teams is to change the source file and have the translators of each language go through it from scratch. As a result, the German version still stops at the old model parameters. This article is written for those in charge of product information. It explains how to use one source file to generate instructions in multiple languages, and keep the model number, button names, and warnings consistent in each language.

After reading, you can get a set of processes that you can follow: how to lock the content first, how to process it language by language, and what to check before delivery. The OmniDoc operations mentioned in this article are limited to uploading files in omnidoc.top, selecting the translation output method, and downloading the results. The rest are common practices.

How to create multi-language instructions? One sentence conclusion

Use one finalized source document, translate it once for each target language, and fix the glossary and master version at the same time, rather than having each language revise its own version.

Scenario: A Chinese instruction manual is to be published in five languages.

Suppose you are a small equipment manufacturer with a 30-page Chinese manual and need to publish German, French, Spanish, Japanese and English versions. I have a Word source file, several circuit diagrams, and a parameter table on hand. Final delivery of printed PDF and electronic versions.

There are usually three places where it actually gets stuck: a warning has been changed and I don’t know which version needs to be changed accordingly; the German version has translated"standby"into two terms; after translation, the table column width has changed and the parameters are misaligned. These problems all come from not locking down the content first, not unifying terminology, and not checking page by page.

Complete process

1. Finalize and freeze the source file: determine the model, parameters and version number, save it as a separate file, such as "manual_zh_v3.docx", and then generate translations only from this version.
2. Organize a glossary: List the product name, component name, button name, indicator light meaning and unit. Write the original Chinese text and the target translation you want to use for each item, and give it to the translator and reviewer for reference.
3. Check the structure of the source file: confirm that the title level and numbering are continuous, and there are no complicated merged cells in the table. Use the mouse to try to select a piece of text. If you can select it, it means that it is a text version; the parts that cannot be selected are mostly pictures and text, and they need to be processed as scanned copies first.
4. Language-by-language translation: Upload the same frozen source file to omnidoc.top, select the corresponding language, select the corresponding document style according to the technical content of the instructions, select "Translation only" or "Bilingual comparison" output, and then download the results in that language.
5. Check against the glossary: Search key component names, button names, and model numbers in each translation to confirm that there is only one translation for the same concept.
6. Review by native speakers: Safety warnings, numerical values, units and contraindications should be checked one by one. It is convenient to use the bilingual comparison version when reviewing, and you can directly see the correspondence between the original text and the translated text.
7. Check the layout and correct it: View the PDF page by page, check tables, figure numbers, and page numbers. When you need to modify the text of individual paragraphs, you can use the PDF editor of the desktop client (download.omnidoc.top) to directly modify the paragraphs, and then export after modification.
8. Archive version: The file name of each language carries the source file version number, such as "manual_de_v3.pdf". When the source file is modified again, you can tell at a glance which language has expired.

Where things can easily go wrong

• Version misalignment: A common symptom is that the parameters in the translation do not match the source file, or the page number and version number are inconsistent. The solution is to only generate translations from the frozen version; once the source file is changed, mark all languages for redo, don't change just one of them.
• Inconsistent terminology: The same component appears in two translations in the same manual, and readers will think it is two parts. The discovery method is to search for keywords in the full text of the translation; the processing method is to modify them uniformly based on the glossary. The results of machine translation and OCR require manual verification, and important content should not be published directly.
• Format and table misalignment: After translation, the column width of the table changes, the text exceeds the frame, and the legend and the text do not match. German and French texts are usually longer than Chinese, so space must be reserved. The discovery method is to read the PDF page by page; the processing method is to streamline the tables in the source file, or adjust the paragraph length and then re-translate.
• Warning words are translated freely: Native speakers often report that "warning" is translated as "attention", and the tone changes. Safety-related sentences should be listed separately and confirmed sentence by sentence by the reviewer.
• Scanned source file: OmniDoc supports directly uploading scanned PDF translations, but when the scan quality is poor, the recognized text may be incorrect. It is recommended to check the corresponding parts of the original text and the translated text on a few pages.

🎯 Which method is suitable for you?

If your manual is still being revised frequently

Freeze the version first, and then translate in batches after the content is finalized. Don't rush to start the German or French version during the changes, otherwise you will probably have to rework it.

If you only need two or three languages

Language-by-language translation plus native-language review is usually sufficient, and the glossary can be reduced to one page, focusing on safety warnings and parameter checks.

If you want to cover many languages

Make a glossary and master version first, then deal with it by language, and designate a person in charge for each language to be responsible for the translation, review and version recording of that language.

If your instruction manual is mainly based on charts

Prioritize text version PDF or Word as the source file and check whether the text in the image can be selected. The part of text that cannot be selected will be processed into editable text first, and then enter the translation process.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Can multiple languages be generated at the same time?

The actual method is to translate the same frozen source file once per language, and use the file name to distinguish the language and version number. This way each translation can be checked and archived individually.

2. The German translation is much longer than the Chinese version. What should I do about the layout?

German and French texts are usually longer than Chinese texts. After translation, you need to read the PDF page by page, focusing on checking the table column width, figure captions and page numbers. If it does not fit in the layout, you should simplify the sentences or adjust the tables in the source document and then translate it again.

3. Where should the glossary be maintained?

Just put it in a table shared by the team. The key is that each word has only one translation, and the applicable language and person in charge are marked. After the glossary is changed, the people who are working on the translation must be notified simultaneously.

4. Can the results of machine translation be directly used for publication?

It is not recommended to publish directly. Contents related to safety warnings, numerical values, and regulations need to be checked by native speakers, and important content is subject to manual review.

5. What should you look for when choosing a free tool to create multi-language manuals?

It mainly depends on the file size limit, whether the output is watermarked, whether the layout and tables are retained, whether the file will be retained, and how the privacy policy is written. Before officially publishing, it is recommended to use a sample document to test the layout and terminology of the translation.

📝 Summary

The key to multi-language manuals is to finalize them first, then unify the terminology, and finally translate and review them language by language. OmniDoc can translate the same source document into different languages and retain the format, but consistency of terminology and native language verification still depends on the process to ensure. By following the above steps, you will have more basis for selecting and using multi-language translation tools for manuals.

Open OmniDoc, upload the document and start translation