How to translate a Google Doc, including the text in its images

Google Docs has a built-in translator. On a computer, open the document and click Tools → Translate document: Docs creates a translated copy and leaves your original as it is. What it does not change is text that is part of a picture (screenshots, scanned pages, charts pasted as images), so this guide also covers that second step.

Translate a Google Doc in five steps

These are the steps from Google Docs Editors Help:

1. On your computer, open the document in Google Docs.
2. Click Tools → Translate document.
3. Enter a name for the translated document and select a language.
4. Click Translate.
5. The translated copy opens in a new window. You can also find it in your Google Drive.

Three situations trip people up:

• "Translate document" is missing. Google's help explains that the file is probably still a Microsoft Word file open in Office editing mode. Convert it to Google Docs format first, then translate it.
• You are on a phone. The Android and iPhone/iPad versions of the same help page tell you to open the document in Google Docs on a computer.
• You only want one section. Google's steps only ask for a name and a language, with no option to pick a section. Paste the section into a new document and translate that one.

What to check in the translated copy

The copy is a new document, so compare it with the original side by side. Accept or reject pending suggestions and resolve comments before you translate, so the copy starts from clean text.

Word files, PDFs and scanned pages

The Google Translate help page is explicit about the limit that matters here: text in images and scanned PDF pages appears in the output file but is not translated.

Why the images in your Doc stay in the original language

A screenshot, a scanned form, a flowchart exported as PNG or a chart pasted as an image is a picture. Docs sees an image, not words, so Translate document has nothing to translate inside it. The result can be a mismatch: a Spanish paragraph that says "como muestra la figura 2", above a figure whose labels are still in English.

Drawings created with Docs' own drawing tool (Insert → Drawing → New) are different: their words are editable text, typed in text boxes, Word Art or shapes (Google Docs Editors Help). Check them in the copy: if they are still in the original language, open the drawing and translate that text by hand.

Translate the images: export, translate, replace

1. Export the images

• Use the originals when you can. The screenshot on your computer or the chart export from your spreadsheet usually has the best resolution.
• Otherwise, download the document as a zipped web page. In the original document, click File → Download and choose the zipped web page (HTML) format (Google Docs Editors Help, export formats). Unzip it and look for the pictures among the extracted files. If one is missing or too small, zoom in on it in the document and take a screenshot instead.

2. Translate them

Upload each picture to the image translator (JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB). Leave the source language on Auto-detect or set it, then choose the target language. In a browser window at least 1280 px wide, the business type menu next to the languages offers Technical documentation, which asks the model for precise terminology and correctly translated measurements in figures; Default mode suits ordinary screenshots. Signed-in users can also save a default business type in their profile. From the Pro plan, custom AI instructions can hold glossary notes such as "Keep 'Dashboard' in English", and batch translation takes up to 10 images per batch.

The result is a new, generated image. Compare every number, label and small piece of text with the original before you use it. Content-specific advice: diagrams, charts, screenshots.

3. Put them back

1. In the translated copy, right-click the picture and click Replace image → Upload from computer (Google: insert or replace images).
2. Check the size and text wrapping. The translated file can have different pixel dimensions from the original.
3. Update the alt text: select the picture, then Image options → Alt text, or press Ctrl + Alt + Y (⌘ + Option + Y on a Mac) (Google accessibility help).
4. Read the caption under the picture. If it is typed as text, it was translated with the rest of the document, so it must now match the words in the translated image.

When you only need to read the text in an image

Not every picture needs a translated replacement. If you are researching a record, a letter or a form, extracting the text is enough:

• Drive's OCR. In Google Drive, right-click a PDF or a JPEG, PNG or GIF file and choose Open with → Google Docs. Drive converts it into a document with the recognized text, which you can then run through Translate document. Google's requirements: files of 2 MB or less, text at least 10 pixels high, pages right side up. Bold, italics and line breaks are likely to be kept; lists, tables and columns are not likely to be detected (Google Drive Help).
• Google Translate's Images tab. Upload a picture to see its text translated, and save the result with Download translation (Google Translate Help). Good for understanding, less suited to a clean figure for a published document.
• Google Pics. Google's help describes an Edit image button in Docs on a computer: Pics detects the text in a picture, and you click a piece of text to type a new version. As of October 2026 the help lists the feature in English only and says it needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan (Google Docs Editors Help).

Checklist before you share the translated Doc

• File name and sharing. The copy is a separate file in Drive. Rename it in the target language and check who has access before you send the link.
• Structure. Headings styled, table of contents updated, cross-references such as "see section 3.2" still correct.
• Image, caption and alt text agree. All three should use the same terms.
• Numbers, dates and units. Decimal separators, date order and units follow the target locale, in the text and in the pictures.
• Terminology. One term per concept across the document. Machine translation can render the same English word two different ways on two pages.
• Binding text. Contracts, safety instructions and medical content need a professional translator. A machine-translated copy is a working draft.

Translating a deck rather than a document? The menus are different in Google Slides and in PowerPoint.