Frequently Asked Questions

1 Why was my document not able to be translated?

We currently only support file translations of documents with 600 words or less. Secured PDFs or protected Word documents cannot be processed.

Sometimes, formatting issues with your document can cause issues. For example, secured PDFs cannot be processed. Further, formatting issues in Microsoft Word including if track changes is enabled, if footnotes are present, or if images are embedded sometimes cause errors. If all else fails, try copying your text into another document and sending that as it will eliminate many formatting issues.

2 What types of files can be translated with the "File Translation" tool?

We are working on expanding the file types we support and on allowing you to translate documents using Google Translate and Bing Translator. Currently, TransPerfect's free translation currently supports the following file types:

• .txt
• .rtf
• .html
• .doc
• .ppt
• .pdf

Unfortuntately, we do not yet support:

• .docx
• .odt
• .sxw
• .pdb
• .xls
• .xlsx
• .xps

3 Why are there different translations between TransPerfect, Google, and Bing?

TransPerfect, Google, and Bing each use a different machine translation tool. Sometimes, they will all translate a word or passage the same way and others, they end up with different results. TransPerfect uses a rules-based machine translation. It attempts to identify the structure of the sentence and translate each word accordingly. Google and Bing use statistical machine translation. They look for patterns among all the documents they have been able to collect in various languages and generate a translation based upon passages it finds are most similar to what you want translated. Our portal allows you to easily compare machine translations generated using both methods.

4 What happens when I click "Translate" on the Google or Bing windows?

For free Text and our soon to-be-launched Web Translation, our portal allows you to choose and/or compare between TransPerfect's machine translation, Google Translate, and Bing Translator. Clicking on each tab generates the translation from each tool.

5 How can I get a better translation?

Machine translation has been improving in quality for years, but it still does not approach the quality of a human translation. We offer this site ad-free, unlike most of our industry competitors, so forgive us this pitch:

TransPerfect Translations ensures the highest quality translations with a process honed over years that produces certified translations of the highest quality that read as if they were originally crafted in the target language. We assign three professional certified translators: a native-speaking translator, editor, and proofreader to create each certified translation. Each of these linguists is officially certified via the TransPerfect Linguist Certification program, which sets the standard for excellence in the translation industry. Clients can relax in the knowledge that their documents are being handled by experts with unsurpassed linguistic prowess as well as subject area expertise.

Our goal while undertaking a certified translation project is not simply to translate literally, but to work within the target language, so that original nuances and tone remain intact and the original message is conveyed without compromise. This is why our production departments are divided into specialized groups, each possessing extensive experience in the exact requirements of each industry.

Text that passes through our full three-step certified translation process is of distribution quality and can be officially certified.