“Keep formatting” needs a more precise definition before you can judge a translated PDF. Do you need the same page count, readable table cells, intact illustrations, or an exact printed-page reference? These are different acceptance criteria.
Start by identifying which layout relationships matter in your document. Then review representative pages against the original instead of judging the result from its first clean page.
Check what changed when the wording expanded
Translated sentences may need more or less space than their source. A narrow heading, sidebar, or footnote can run out of room even when the main text looks fine. There is no useful universal expansion percentage for every language and document.
Inspect the end of text boxes, the bottom of columns, and places where a paragraph meets a table or illustration. Look for clipped endings, overlapping lines, unusually small text, or sentences continuing in an unexpected position.
Read the final sentence in a crowded block aloud to yourself while following the original. Missing punctuation or an abrupt ending may be an omission rather than a stylistic choice. Page count alone cannot reveal it: content can be lost while the document still has the expected number of pages.
Review fonts, tables, and pictures as separate systems
A font that covered the source language may not display every target-language character. Check accented letters, non-Latin scripts, punctuation, and small labels. Empty squares or substituted symbols are warning signs, but a character that looks merely unusual may also be wrong.
For tables, read row and column headings with their values. Borders can survive while labels shift or wrap ambiguously. Check grouped headers, units, percentages, and notes, especially where the table crosses a page.
For images, confirm the whole figure is present and the caption still belongs to it. Text embedded inside a picture may remain an image; preserving the picture does not establish that its labels were translated. Identify those remaining source-language labels before sharing the file as fully translated.
The guide to content that should remain unchanged helps separate proper names, code, and notation from prose that should change language.
Trace page numbers and cross-references
A running footer, a printed page number, and the PDF viewer's page position are not necessarily the same thing. When checking a reference such as “see page 18,” determine which system the author used.
If the result has reflowed or acquired a different page structure, the old locator may no longer work. Keep the source edition available for citations and consider recording section or figure identifiers in your own notes. Do not silently rewrite the author's reference numbers without checking their targets.
Test chapter links and note links where present. Read both the marker and destination: opening something successfully does not prove it is the right note. A footnote's text and its relationship to the sentence are separate checks.
Build a small but varied page sample
A practical sample includes:
- The title and a chapter or section opening.
- An ordinary page with a full paragraph crossing its boundary.
- The densest table or multi-column page.
- A page containing figures and captions.
- A page with notes, formulas, or unusual characters.
- The last page, including appendices and references when applicable.
Record source location, result location, observed defect, and whether it affects meaning or appearance. A misplaced minus sign and a slightly different margin deserve different priorities. If an issue repeats, expand the sample in that part of the document rather than assuming it is isolated.
This is a review method, not a statistical accuracy measurement. Passing several pages does not establish that the whole document is error-free.
Choose the next step from the actual defect
For a translated PDF in PDF Craft, upload the source, select PDF output and the target language, review your instructions, then download the completed task. The service is available online; installing a desktop reader is not a prerequisite. Consult Pricing for current charges.
If the output text is correct but cramped, a different reading format may suit you better. If the content was recognized incorrectly, changing the viewer will not repair it. The fixed-layout versus reflow guide helps distinguish those decisions.
Keep the original, the unedited translation, and any corrected copy. That gives a later reviewer a way to understand which changes came from translation and which came from your layout repair.