The suggestion is simple - translate the source document from which the PDF was created, not the PDF.

Unfortunately, clients are clueless and do not know that PDF is NOT "just another document format" which can be freely edited.
And it's even more unfortunate that many (majority?) translators do not know this either...

PDF was invented as consume-only (i.e. read-only, print-only) format and was NEVER intended to be editable or otherwise processable.

Therefore, if client wants to have a PDF localized, the only correct process is to localize the original format used to create the PDF (which can be Word, InDesign, Quark, or whatever else), NOT the PDF.
Period.

I must disappoint you - there is no way to get it better, if you do not invest any work. And you have to invest this work upfront. Even if it is possible to translate a PDF with a CAT tool directly, this is a very bad idea. You have already learned why - the conversion is as it is. You have no influence on what is being converted how.

Either insist on translating the native format of the document before it was PDF or use a decent OCR and convert the PDF manually. Then pay attention, that the fonts used do cover your target language. Expecting any automated tool to be able to provide you perfect conversion quality is - forgive my French - at least naive.

If you want to learn more about Studio and PDF, watch this upcoming webinar: http://seminare.bdue.de/4705

BTW, the term "editable" PDF is very misleading. No PDF is "editable", as the format has been entirely developed for READ-ONLY applications. It is not intended to be edited in any way. So what you mean is a "clickable" PDF, where you can click and select text. If the PDF is not protected, you can also copy the text. The best idea would be simply to copy all the text into a notepad to remove all formatting, translate this, apply the basic formatting like headings, list elements and so on and deliver this to the customer to make his layouter copy & paste it, if the customer will not deliver the original source file. Or to reformat it yourself.

Fun fact: Looking closer at the PDF screenshot I realized (only after posting my answer) that the "customer" is actually Christos himself ;-)

I'm afraid the advice you're getting s probably the right advice.  PDF files can be notoriously difficult to manage and even if the conversion to Word for the translatable file goes well the layout is easily lost if it's complex as Word isn't the best tool for things like this.

What software did you use for the original file... maybe there is a way to get at the content another way?

You could also try using IRIS.  Make sure you have the IRIS plugin installed and activated before you create your project.  It "might" help.

https://multifarious.filkin.com/2017/08/17/iris-ocr/

Fully agree - I tend to often open scanned documents just to have a basis for setting up the source text.(we get a lot of notarised copies of documents about capital Instruments (often of a very historical basis). I still find that taking the time to run OCR and then correct the source text formatting in the generated word doc (I tend to generate a target language version that is based on the output of the OCR and then reformat and correct the Word Doc it creates - it is a lot quicker than retyping the document.

If you consider that bad, wait until you get items in Fraktur from about 1910 and scanned as a PDF.

Hi all,

Thank you for the help. Some clients do not have the original file (before converting it to PDF), that's why I'm looking for a workaround. Also, when exporting a file from some applications, only the PDF is available. For this example, I used the PDF which I downloaded from Resume.io , a website where one can create their CV on pre-existing templates. This is why I was the hypothetical client in this case. Well spotted!

Regarding OCR, which software would you suggest for PDFs?

Kind regards,

Christos

Unknown said:

For this example, I used the PDF which I downloaded from Resume.io

Yes, in some cases it is indeed PDF and a pain... In such cases you have these options:

• Export directly to Word from Adobe Acrobat (full version)
• Use a decent OCR software like Abbyy Finereader - but NOT the automated one, only the manual process to identify tables, pictures, background pictures and so on; an automated conversion will deliver a mess (nearly always)
• Find someone who is proficient in converting PDF2Word, pay him/her for this work and be happy with a perfect result
• In any case: charge the customer for the extra work

Thank you for your input, everyone. That was really helpful, as I I knew very little about PDFs.

All best,

Christos