How to translate a Word document without losing the formatting

Why formatting breaks when you translate a Word file

If you copy the text, paste it into an online translator and paste the result back into the document, everything falls apart: heading styles vanish, numbered lists restart at 1, tables turn into plain text, and headers, footers and footnotes are simply left behind.

A .docx file is not just text. It is a structure: paragraphs tied to styles, tables, text boxes, headers, footnotes and automatic fields (table of contents, cross-references, page numbers). To keep the formatting, the text has to be translated inside that structure rather than rebuilt by hand. Our comparison of online translators and professional services covers the differences on this point.

The second trap is length. A translated sentence is never exactly as long as the original: depending on the language, the text may shrink or grow. A layout tuned to the millimetre copes badly with that.

Preparing the Word file before translation

A little preparation on the original saves a lot of fixing on the translation.

1. Save it as .docx

Old .doc files (Word 97-2003) are not the format to upload. Open the document and choose File › Save As › Word Document (.docx). Take a moment to check that nothing moved during the conversion.

2. Accept or reject tracked changes

With Track Changes on, the file holds several versions of the same passage. On the Review tab, accept or reject all changes, then delete internal comments. That way you know exactly which text will be translated: the final version and nothing else.

3. Replace layout workarounds

Lining up a column with spaces or forcing a new page with a string of returns works only as long as the text stays put. After translation, everything shifts. Use instead:

• proper tab stops and paragraph indents;
• real page breaks (Ctrl + Enter);
• heading and paragraph styles with spacing before and after.

4. Give tables and text boxes room to grow

A table row with a fixed height or a text box with locked dimensions will cut off a longer translation. In Table Properties › Row, set the height to “At least” rather than “Exactly”. This setting helps whenever the translation may run longer than the original.

5. Spot text locked inside images

Text in a logo, a screenshot or a diagram exported as a picture belongs to the image, not the document, so it is not read as text. If that diagram must exist in the target language, plan to redraw it from the translated labels.

Translating the Word document with Manuce, step by step

1. Upload the file in the app, up to 40 MB. Words are counted on the actual document.
2. Pick one or more languages from the 96 available languages, in either direction.
3. Choose a level: Essential, Professional or Premium.
4. Review the quote, shown before any payment, and the free translated extract, so you can judge on your own text.
5. Download the translation within minutes from your client area and by email, with the original layout: images, tables and fonts stay in place.

Each document goes to the specialist for its subject. For an internal memo, meeting notes, a letter or a document with no particular field, that is Atlas, our general documents specialist. A contract goes to Thémis, technical documentation to Dédale: the full list is on the specialists page.

On confidentiality: no human reads your files, servers are in France and your documents are never used for training. Details are in our privacy policy.

How much does it cost to translate a Word document?

Take a 2,000-word Word document (about 5 pages) from French into English. These are the amounts shown on the quote on the day this article was written:

Totals are rounded up to the next euro, and the original layout is included in the price. VAT not applicable, article 293 B du CGI. The full price list is on the pricing page, and our guide to professional translation prices explains how a quote is built.

Which level? Essential is enough to understand a document you received or for internal use; Professional suits a document ready to send; Premium is for binding or high-visibility texts, with cross-review.

Checks to run after delivery

• Update fields: Ctrl + A, then F9. The table of contents and cross-references then pick up the translated headings.
• Change the proofing language: Review › Language › Set Proofing Language, so the spellchecker works in the right language.
• Check page breaks, table endings and headings stranded at the bottom of a page.
• Check numbers and dates: 1 000,50 in French becomes 1,000.50 in English; 04/05 means 4 May in France and the UK but 5 April in the US.
• Read headers, footers and footnotes, which are easy to miss when proofreading.
• Have it reviewed by someone who knows the subject if the document commits you.

What this kind of translation does not cover

If your Word file reproduces a civil status record, a diploma, a court judgment or a Kbis extract for an authority, you need a sworn translation by a translator registered as an expert with a French court of appeal (traducteur expert près une cour d'appel). Manuce does not offer this; our guide on when sworn translation is required will help.

Finally, if you are torn between sending the Word file or a PDF, go for the Word source. Scanned PDFs with no text layer cannot be processed, and into Arabic, Hebrew, Indian scripts and Thai the original PDF layout is not available. For other cases, see our guide to translating a PDF without breaking the layout.