How to translate product parameters, dimensions and drawings into English

Key points of this article

When translating parameter tables and dimension tables, the key is to accurately translate the labels, keep the numerical values and units unchanged, and do not rewrite the entire text sentence by sentence.
Please check the numbers, units and models of the original text before translating. The translation process will not correct errors in the original text for you.
After the table structure of Word and Excel is retained, the verification efficiency is significantly higher; the scanned drawings require additional inspection of the recognition results.
The same English term must be used in the entire text for the same component. It is recommended to make a glossary before starting translation.
The conversion between imperial and metric systems must be carried out and reviewed separately, and unit symbols cannot only be replaced.

When doing foreign trade and preparing materials for overseas exhibitions, many people only have a Chinese product manual in hand, but what they are really anxious to find is the parameter list, dimensions and drawing text: power, weight, dimensions, interface locations, and part numbers. These contents are usually scattered in Word tables, Excel tables or PDF drawings, with many numbers, many units, and complex layouts, which are different from the translation of ordinary text.

This article talks about how to translate product parameters into English while retaining numbers, units, and table layout. After reading, you can determine which content requires manual review and follow the steps to process three common types of files: Word, Excel, and PDF in OmniDoc.

How to translate product parameters, dimensions and drawings into English? One sentence conclusion

The focus of translation of parameter tables is "accurate translation of labels, keeping values and units unchanged". Do not rewrite the entire document as if it were an ordinary article, otherwise it will be easy to correct the wrong number or model number in a long sentence.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
The parameter table is in Word and has merged cells.	Upload .docx, choose translation only or bilingual comparison	The table structure will be retained for easy checking against the original table.
Dimensions in Excel	Upload .xlsx translation and check column by column	The row and column positions remain unchanged, and the numerical columns should be consistent with the original table.
The drawing is a PDF and the text can be selected	Upload PDF and select bilingual comparison	The comparison version facilitates engineers to check the correspondence between annotations and graphics.
The drawings are scanned copies	Directly upload scanned PDF translations; if you need to turn the text into editable content first, you can use OCR processing on the desktop client	The identification results may be biased and need to be checked item by item.
There are only dozens of parameters vocabulary	First organize the glossary manually and then fill it in manually	Manual processing is more reliable when the quantity is small

Before you start: Confirm these points first

1. Whether the numerical value and unit have been finalized. Translation only changes the text and does not correct errors in the original text. If the decimal point of the power in the original Chinese table is written incorrectly, the English version will show the error as it is, so check the numbers and units (such as mm, kg, V, Hz) before starting.

2. Which unit is used by the target market? Imperial units (in, lb) are commonly used in English materials. If overseas customers require imperial units, conversion is required. Conversions must be calculated and reviewed separately, and unit symbols cannot be replaced while retaining the original numbers.

3. The file can be in the format of Chinese characters or pictures. Word and PDF that can select text will have a more complete structure after translation; the clarity of scans or screenshots will affect the quality of recognition, so try to confirm whether the original is clear first.

4. Is the terminology consistent? If the same component is called "casing" in the table and "fuselage" in the text, readers will mistakenly think it is two parts. List key terms before starting, and choose a technical style to make parameter names closer to the way engineering documents are written.

5. Whether the code on the drawing is retained. Thread specifications (such as M6), standard numbers (such as GB/T), and symbols (such as Φ) should generally remain unchanged and should not be translated into ordinary text.

Steps to translate product instructions with parameter tables in OmniDoc

organize the source files separately. save another copy of the Word, Excel or PDF where the parameter table and size table are located, and delete the pages that have nothing to do with translation. The file is smaller and the check is faster.
Open omnidoc.top and upload files. Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx) and PDF are supported, including scanned PDF.
Select English as the target language. confirm the language setting before starting to avoid mistakenly selecting other languages.
Select technical text style. Technical style is more suitable for parameter names, operation instructions and engineering descriptions, which can reduce the problem of random words.
Select the output method. bilingual control is selected when it needs to be compared line by line with the original Chinese table; only translation is selected when it is given to overseas customers.
start the translation and wait for the download result after completion. keep the original file after download for later comparison.
check the table structure first. check whether the number of rows and rows is the same as the original table, and whether the merged cells and headers are still there.
check the values, units and models one by one. after confirmation, the parameters are included in the quotation or exhibition materials.

# check item by item after completion

After getting the translation, it is recommended to check it item by item according to the table below. Both machine translation and OCR results require manual checking of important contents, especially security alerts, authentication numbers and performance indicators.

Check item	What do you think?	What if there's a problem?
Numerical value and unit	Compare numbers, decimal points, and unit symbols row by line against the original table	Change back to the original value when the numbers are inconsistent; unit conversion is calculated and checked separately.
Table structure	Check whether the number of rows, merged cells, and headers are consistent with the original table	Go back to the original file when the structure is misplaced and check for hidden lines or unrecognized merge cells
Model and code name	Does the model, material number, standard number and thread specification remain the same?	The rewritten code name is changed back to the original text.
The terminology is consistent	Is the translation of the same part unified in the full text?	Replace the uniform term with the search of the text editor, and spot check several places after replacement.
Sheet callout location	Check whether the label is aligned with the corresponding drawing in PDF	When marking the corresponding error, check whether it is the recognition deviation of the scanned part, and correct it manually after reprocessing.

# which method is suitable for you?

- only need to give overseas customers a parameter table : only upload the file where the form is located, select the translation only, and check the value before you can use it. - it needs to be confirmed by the engineer one by one : select bilingual control, so that the Chinese and English tags are displayed side by side to facilitate the location of the problem. - Exhibition materials to be printed : after translation, modify the paragraph text in the PDF editor on the desktop client, then export it for use, and manually proofread it again before printing.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. The product is translated into English, what is the difference between the whole manual and only the translation of the parameter table?

The whole manual needs to take care of the smoothness and tone of the sentence, while the parameter table focuses on terminology and numbers. It is suggested that the two parts should be dealt with separately and the parameter list should be set up with a glossary and a checklist separately.

2. Should mm be changed to inch when the product size is translated into English?

It depends on the target market and customer requirements. The conversion to imperial system needs to be converted and checked separately. Don't just change the unit symbol and retain the original number.

3. What if the annotations of the product drawings do not match after translation?

First look at whether the original document is scanned, identification deviation is a common reason. Then check it one by one against the original picture and correct it manually when you find the dislocation.

4. How to ensure the unity of English words in product translation?

List the glossary before translation, replace the uniform terms with search after translation, and then spot-check a few chapters. This step takes less time than checking one sentence at a time.

5. Can the free translation method handle the parameter table?

You can focus on the file size limit, watermarking, retention of forms and typesetting, and whether the privacy policy is clear. If undisclosed technical data are involved, the data processing method of the document should be confirmed first.

# Summary

The key to the translation of product parameters into English is to check the values and units first, keep the table structure intact and unify the terms in the full text. Follow the above steps to process the Word, Excel or PDF documents, and then check them item by item to get the English parameters that can be used for quotation and exhibition.

Open OmniDoc, upload the document and start translation.