Translate a Word document into English and keep formatting

What to expect when translating a Word document

• Headings, lists, styles, headers and footers survive, because the translation is written back into the same .docx structure. Your table of contents still works after you update it.
• Accept or reject tracked changes before uploading, so the translation is based on the final text and the reader does not get a half-revised document.
• Translated text is rarely the same length. Word reflows the document, so page count can change. Check page breaks, tables and text boxes for overflow.

What stays in the Word document

Styles, headings, lists, tables, headers and footers stay within the document structure. You receive a .docx when you upload .docx, so you can open the translated file and continue editing.

Footnotes usually remain in place, but check their text and references. Comments and text boxes also need inspection; do not assume every comment or separate text area has been translated as you intended. Words inside images, such as screenshots and logos, are not translated.

A table of contents based on Word headings should remain usable after you update its fields. Do that after reviewing the wording and pagination. A contents list typed by hand does not become an automatic table of contents during translation.

Prepare the original before translation

Use the version you would want someone else to read. Cleaning up the source first gives you fewer competing versions and fewer formatting problems to resolve in the translation.

• Accept tracked changes before uploading once you have decided on the final wording. Resolve any changes you do not want to keep first. A finished source is easier to review than a document containing alternative versions of the same sentence.
• If your file is an older .doc, save it as .docx in Word where possible. Upload that .docx to receive an editable .docx back. Keep your original separately so you can compare the final text and structure.
• Check whether your chosen fonts cover the alphabets used in the source and translation. A font without the required characters may be substituted, which can change line lengths and spacing. Inspect names and multilingual passages as well as ordinary paragraphs.

Why Word handles changing text length better than PDF

A Word paragraph can wrap onto another line and push the next paragraph down. A PDF positions text within a fixed page design. That difference matters when translated wording takes more room. Word gives running text room to move, so a longer sentence does not always require you to resize a box by hand.

The English version may use fewer lines than the source. German to English is usually 10–20 % shorter, although individual passages can expand. Page count and page breaks can therefore change even when the styles are retained.

Reflow has limits. A fixed-height table row or a small text box may still leave too little room. Check those areas and adjust them in the returned .docx rather than assuming every part of a Word page behaves like a normal paragraph.

Review these details in the editable result

Open the translated .docx and compare it with the source before making a final PDF.

• Read fixed-width table cells across each row. Check wrapping, row height and the connection between labels and figures. Compare amounts, dates, IBANs and other numbers and their notation with the original.
• Inspect text boxes, footnotes and comments. These usually retain their place in the document, but check the wording and fit individually. Text embedded in a picture remains part of that picture and is not translated.
• Update the table of contents and other fields where needed after editing. Review the resulting entries and page references. Check headers and footers again if the translated document has a different page count.
• Read repeated specialist terms consistently across the document. noll has no glossary or term lock. Check names and passages that need a different alphabet, and replace unsuitable fonts in Word if characters are missing or spacing has changed.

Into English, from any language

You don't have to tell us the source language; it is detected per file, so a folder of German, French and Polish documents can all go into English in one upload.

How it works

1. 1

   Drop the file

   Upload the digital original in a supported format. For PDFs, use selectable text; scanned PDFs are not supported. The source language is detected automatically.

2. 2

   Pick English

   Choose English as the target. Sign in and check your available page allowance before starting the translation. You can add more target languages.

3. 3

   Download the same file type

   Start the translation, then download the result in the source file type. Compare the layout, numbers, dates and important wording with the original before using it.

What happens to your file

noll is built for documents you would not paste into a free online translator. Files are processed in EU data centres and never used to train models. Automatic file deletion is scheduled 30 minutes after successful translation in the standard document workflow. The separate single-PDF purchase flow allows 2 hours after successful translation for checkout and download. Download promptly; see our data-handling information for details.

Pricing

The standard document workflow requires an account and an available translation page allowance. Translation is billed by the page. Check current plans and your allowance before starting.

Frequently asked questions

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Prepare the PDF before or after translating

These PDF tools run in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.

• Remove Metadata
• Sanitize PDF
• Protect PDF
• Compress PDF
• PDF to Word