How to Translate PDFs with Helperbird

What is PDF Translation?

PDF Translation lets you read any PDF in your own language. From the Tools menu in Helperbird's PDF Reader, click Translate and the current page, or just the text you have highlighted, opens in Immersive Reader with translation already switched on in your saved language.

There is nothing extra to set up inside the reader. The translated text appears straight away, and you can listen to it, change the text size, and use the other Immersive Reader supports while you read.

Who is This For?

This feature is helpful for:

• Students reading study materials or textbooks in another language
• English language learners who want schoolwork in their home language
• Families reading school letters, forms, or reports sent as PDFs
• Teachers supporting multilingual classrooms
• Anyone who receives PDFs in a language they do not read comfortably

Step 1: Choose Your Language

Helperbird translates PDFs into the language you have saved in the Translate feature. To set or change it:

1. Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar to open the popup.
2. Find Translate in the All Features list. You can use the search bar to find it quickly.
3. Click the open button on the Translate row.
4. Pick your language from the dropdown at the bottom of the Translate window.

Helperbird remembers your choice, so you only need to do this once. The same saved language is used everywhere you translate with Helperbird.

Step 2: Open a PDF in Helperbird

When you view any PDF in your browser, a green Click to open PDF in Helperbird message appears at the bottom of the page for a few seconds.

Click it. If it has gone, open the reader from the Helperbird popup instead.

The PDF will open in Helperbird's PDF Reader with a clean interface and navigation tools at the top.

Step 3: Highlight Text (Optional)

Decide how much you want to translate:

• Translate the whole page: Do nothing. If nothing is highlighted, Helperbird translates all the text on the page you are reading.
• Translate one passage: Highlight the sentence or paragraph you want with your mouse before opening the Tools menu. Only the highlighted text will be translated.

Highlighting a smaller passage is a good choice when you only need one section, or when you are working through a long document a little at a time. On the free plan the browser extension opens up to 2,000 characters at a time, which is often less than a full PDF page, so highlighting is how you stay under the limit.

Step 4: Open the Tools Menu

In the toolbar at the top of the PDF Reader, click the round button with the dots grid icon. It is the last button in the group, and it is labelled More options.

A dropdown menu will appear with four options:

• Immersive Reader - Read the PDF in a clean, distraction-free view
• Translate - Open the page or your highlighted text with translation switched on
• Summarize - Get a short summary of the text
• Screenshot Reader - Pull the text out of a scanned PDF

Step 5: Click Translate

Click Translate in the Tools menu.

You will see a message saying "Opening Immersive Reader...", and the text opens in Immersive Reader with translation already turned on in your saved language. You do not need to find any translation settings yourself.

While you read, you can use Immersive Reader's own tools too, such as reading the translated text aloud, changing the text size, or adjusting the spacing. When you are finished, close Immersive Reader to return to your PDF exactly where you left off.

Troubleshooting

"Open a PDF first" – The reader does not have a PDF loaded yet. Open a PDF using the green button on any PDF page, or the Open PDF button in the top-right of the reader.

"Select some text first" – Helperbird could not find any text on the page. This usually means the PDF is a scanned image rather than real text. Use Screenshot Reader from the same Tools menu to pull the text out first.

"Text too long" message – In the browser extension, the free plan opens up to 2,000 characters in Immersive Reader at a time. Highlight a smaller passage and try again, or upgrade to Pro for longer documents.

Wrong language appears – Your saved language is set in the Translate feature. Follow Step 1 to change it, then click Translate again.

Tips

• Set your language once in the Translate feature and every PDF translation will use it automatically.
• For long documents, translate one page at a time as you read. The Translate button always uses the page you are currently viewing.
• Highlight just the tricky paragraph instead of the whole page when you only need help with one section.
• You can combine translation with Immersive Reader's read aloud to hear the translated text spoken.
• Translating a webpage instead of a PDF? See How to Translate Any Website.

Related Features

• PDF Reader - Open and read PDFs with all of Helperbird's accessibility tools.
• The PDF Tools Menu - Every tool in the reader's Tools menu, and what each one does.
• Translate Web Pages - Translate a whole webpage or selected text on any website.
• Immersive Reader - Read any page in a clean, distraction-free view.
• Summarize Text - Get a short summary of long text.
• Screenshot Reader - Pull text out of scanned PDFs and images.
• PDF Reader Feature Page - Overview of everything the PDF Reader can do.
• Immersive Reader Feature Page - Overview of Immersive Reader in Helperbird.

Need Additional Help?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.