> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.maiagent.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.maiagent.ai/maiagent-user-guide/en/build/knowledge-base/translate-pdf.md).

# PDF Document Translation

Use AI to translate PDF files in your knowledge base, producing translated and bilingual side-by-side PDF versions

## Feature Overview <a href="#feature-description" id="feature-description"></a>

MaiAgent provides AI-powered PDF document translation, allowing you to translate PDF files in your knowledge base into a specified language. After translation, two versions are produced:

* **Translated version**: Contains only the translated content in the target language
* **Bilingual side-by-side version**: Displays the original text and translation side by side for easy comparison

Supported languages include: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Dutch, Polish, and Turkish.

{% hint style="info" %}
Currently, only PDF format is supported for document translation, and the PDF must contain extractable text content (scanned/image-only PDFs are not supported).
{% endhint %}

***

## How to Translate a PDF Document <a href="#how-to-translate-pdf" id="how-to-translate-pdf"></a>

### 1. Open the Document Details Page <a href="#open-document-detail" id="open-document-detail"></a>

In the <mark style="color:blue;">Documents</mark> tab of your knowledge base, click the PDF file you want to translate to open the document details page.

### 2. Open Translation Settings <a href="#open-translation-settings" id="open-translation-settings"></a>

Click the <mark style="color:blue;">Translate PDF</mark> button in the upper right corner. If the file already has a translation record, the translation results dialog will appear first — click <mark style="color:blue;">Translate Again</mark> to open the settings. For first-time translations, the translation settings dialog opens directly.

### 3. Configure Translation Parameters <a href="#configure-translation-params" id="configure-translation-params"></a>

| Field                         | Description                                                                                                       |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Source Language**           | The language of the original text. Defaults to "Auto Detect" — the system identifies it automatically             |
| **Target Language**           | The target language for translation (required)                                                                    |
| **Large Language Model**      | Select the LLM model to use for translation                                                                       |
| **Custom Terminology/Prompt** | (Optional) Guide the translation style or specify terminology mappings, e.g., "Translate 'Hermione' as 'Miao-Li'" |

{% hint style="info" %}
The custom prompt supports up to 5,000 characters and is ideal for specifying proper nouns, brand names, or particular translation styles.
{% endhint %}

### 4. Start Translation <a href="#start-translation" id="start-translation"></a>

Click <mark style="color:blue;">Confirm</mark> to start the translation task in the background. The status updates in real time during translation, and results are displayed automatically upon completion.

***

## View Translation Results <a href="#view-translation-result" id="view-translation-result"></a>

After translation is complete, click the <mark style="color:blue;">Translate PDF</mark> button to open the translation results dialog, which contains three tabs:

### Result Preview <a href="#result-preview" id="result-preview"></a>

Preview the bilingual side-by-side PDF with the original text and translation displayed side by side.

### Download Files <a href="#download-file" id="download-file"></a>

Three file download options are available:

* **Original file**: Download the untranslated original PDF
* **Translated version**: A PDF containing only the target language translation
* **Bilingual side-by-side version**: A PDF with the original text and translation displayed side by side

### Processing Details <a href="#processing-details" id="processing-details"></a>

View complete statistics for the translation task:

* **Translation configuration**: Source/target languages, LLM model used
* **Processing statistics**: Token consumption, number of LLM calls, processing time breakdown
* **File information**: File size and character count for both the original and translated files
* **Timestamps**: Creation, start, and completion times along with the final status

***

## Translation Version Management <a href="#translation-version-management" id="translation-version-management"></a>

A single PDF file can be translated multiple times (e.g., into different languages or using different models), and each translation is saved as a separate version.

Use the <mark style="color:blue;">Select Translation Version</mark> dropdown at the top of the translation results dialog to switch between versions. The version format is: `Date | Source Language → Target Language | Model Used`.

To translate again, click the <mark style="color:blue;">Translate Again</mark> button to open a new translation settings dialog.


---

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