Top 4 Add-ons for Instantly Translating Your Screen

If you find opening a new tab to look up unfamiliar words time-consuming, you might want to consider installing add-ons for instantly translating your screen. These realtime screen translators will save you time and effort on the go.

Top 4 Add-ons for Instantly Translating Your Screen

Here are the 4 most popular free realtime screen translators that provide speedy and highly accurate results.

1. Screen Translator

Screen Translator allows for instantly translating on-screen text for over 50 languages. This add-on contains handy features such as:

1. ● Optical character recognition (OCR)
2. ● Screenshotting
3. ● etc.

Users can easily copy and translate texts from images, documents, games, browsers, and more.

1. 🔻 Download Screen Translator

How to use: 

Step 1: Download Screen Translator to your device. It will show under the Taskbar, not on your PC’s screen.

Step 2: Click on the add-on to start the installation as follows:

1. ● Go to “Settings” > “Translators” > “Google”> “Install/ Update” to update the translator for your PC’s system.
2. ● Click “Update” again, then select “Recognizers” to set the source languages as needed. Then, click “Install/ Update” to start the installation.
3. ● Switch to the “Translation” tab and select “Language” to set the target language.

Step 3: To use the add-on, select Capture or press Ctrl + Alt + Z on your keyboard. When the screenshotting mode is on, you can drag the cursor to select the content that needs translation. The translator will automatically convert the selected text to the target language right under the original text.

1. 📌 Note: If you want to view the source and target text in side-by-side columns, click on the Screen Translator icon and select “Show Translator”.

2. QTranslate

QTranslate is an add-on for instantly translating your screen in just a few clicks or keyboard shortcuts.

It integrates multiple translation APIs, such as Yandex, Bing, and Google, to translate texts from browsers, apps, or documents, as well as provide pronunciation guides.

1. 🔻 Download QTranslate

How to use:

Step 1: Download and install QTranslate on your PC.

Step 2: Open the document that needs translation, then drag the cursor to select the content and press Ctrl+Q to view the results.

Step 3: To listen to the translated text, press “Ctrl+W”.

3. Crow Translate

Crow Translate is an everyday realtime screen translator that supports over 10 languages. Alongside translation, this add-on also provides pronunciation guides, making it a great assistance for language learners.

1. 🔻 Download Crow Translate

How to use:

Step 1: Download Crow Translate to your device and install it as per the instructions.

Step 2: Go to “Settings” to select the source and target languages.

Step 3: Open the content, select the text that needs translation, and press Ctrl + Alt + E to view the translated text. Click on the speaker icon to listen to the content.

4. Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator is integrated into the Office Windows eco-system, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It is a useful add-on for instantly translating on-screen text and realtime audio translation.

User-friendly and simple navigation is what makes Microsoft Translator one of the most popular choices when it comes to realtime screen translators.

How to use:

Step 1: Open your Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document.

Step 2: Select “Review”, then “Translate”.

Step 3: Choose the source and target languages. The translation will show on the right panel.

Step 4: Click “Insert” to replace the original content with the translation.

How to use Google Translate to translate your screen

Google Translate is a popular translation tool worldwide. By using Google Translate for desktop, you can have any on-screen text translated into over 100 languages within seconds.

In addition, it also supports image translation and audio translation with high accuracy. 

How to use:

1. Step 1: Go to translate.google.com and click on Websites.
2. Step 2: Copy and paste the link of the website you want to translate, then choose the source and target languages.
3. Step 3: Click the arrow icon to receive the results.

Chrome users can also have websites’ content translated instantly. Simply right-click on the webpage and select Translate to Vietnamese (or your target language).

Important notes about realtime screen translators

Add-ons for instantly translating your screen are useful tools for working with or studying foreign languages. That said, it is important to keep in mind these notes to use them effectively:

1. 📌 Only use for reference purposes: As these tools provide translation based on built-in algorithms and AI technology, they cannot ensure 100% accuracy, especially when it comes to industry terms, slang, dialects, or literature texts.

1. 📌 Revise the translation: Results from realtime screen translators only convey the general idea and need revision to ensure appropriate use of grammar, register, etc.

1. 📌 Protect your data: As data are not encrypted in these free add-ons, never input important or sensitive information to avoid breaches.

1. 📌 Keep your add-ons updated: It is best to keep your realtime screen translators updated to ensure utmost efficiency.

In short, despite the convenience they bring about, realtime screen translators still have certain disadvantages. Hence, for important documents, it is best to work with professional linguists.

Thao & Co. – A reliable translation agency

With a team of seasoned linguists, Thao & Co. translation company commits to providing accurate translation that aligns with the target context and culture.

In addition, we employ stringent data security policies with NDAs and our proprietary platform. Every step in the process, from file management to translation, is seamless and efficient.

To learn more about our professional translation services, leave your information on Thao & Co.’s Get a Quote form.