Translate an InDesign document online

In this guide: There are two ways to translate your InDesign documents on Redokun - online or offline. Follow these steps to translate an InDesign document online.

Translating an InDesign file is usually a difficult and time-intensive task.

It’s different from translating other types of documents mainly because of the graphical components, which require special attention.

Follow these instructions and tips to structure an efficient translation workflow for your InDesign documents.

A) Install Redokun's InDesign Extension

1. Make sure you installed Redokun's InDesign Extension.
2. Close InDesign and reopen it.

This extension automatically sets up InDesign so that every time you save the file, the document previews will be generated or updated. For the first few times, after you've installed it, you should save the InDesign document you want to translate under a new name.

B) Upload the document in IDML file format

🗣  Optional: Our InDesign experts wrote a free ebook to quickly show you how to optimize your InDesign documents for translation. These tips will help you create a more efficient workflow and avoid common mistakes. Download it here.

3. Convert your InDesign file to an IDML document.

• Do you need to translate several InDesign documents?

  If you need to upload several InDesign documents, visit this user guide to learn how to batch convert INDD files to IDML format.

4. Go to the Document List.
5. Click on  Upload Document.
6. Click on  Choose Files.
7. Select the IDML file you just created and click on Upload.
8. Choose the source language of the file, and click on Upload. At this point, Redokun will extract the text from your document and prepare it for translation.

C) Add target languages

9. Once your document is uploaded, choose the target language/languages for the translation project. Then, click on Select.

• What to do if you are not asked to select the target language/languages?

  If you are not asked to add the target languages, go to the Document Detail page, and click on  Add language.

• What to do if you don't see the target language you are looking for?
  • Check the Settings to make sure you have selected and activated the target language.
  • If you don't see the target language in the Settings, try to activate the country-specific languages by going into Advanced settings and flagging Enable country-specific languages.
  • If you still cannot find the target language, write us at support@redokun.com.

D) Translate the text

⚠️ If your translators prefer to use a different software solution, you can export an exchange file from Redokun that contains all the text for translation. Learn more here.

10. For each target language you have selected, choose an Existing translator or invite a New translator. Select me if you want to translate that language yourself.

• Why can't I see any translators listed?
  If you don't see any translators listed, make sure to assign a translator (or more) to the specific target language first.

11. After you've selected the translators for each target language, they will be automatically invited to register an account and start translating your document

E) Pre-translate (optional step)

Before your translators start working on a document, you may run the Pre-translate feature that gives you the choice to:

• automatically use past translations for repetitive or similar text found in your document
• fill the gaps with machine translation

Both features enable your team to translate faster because they would only need to review the text.

F) Download the translated document

12. When a translation is complete, the translator will confirm their work and you will receive a notification email. If you are translating the document yourself, confirm the translation before exporting the file by clicking Confirm translation.
13. Ensure that the translation in the target language you want to download is confirmed. The icon below Confirm / Unlock should be a lock symbol.
14. Click on the Download icon. Redokun might ask you to confirm the download and show you how many words will be deducted from your word-count balance.
15. Open the translated IDML file in InDesign and save it as an INDD file.

The translated file downloaded from Redokun will have the same format, the same layout, and the same look as your original file.