DwgTextTranslator

Translate your AutoCAD drawings in three steps:

How do you translate AutoCAD drawing text from one language to another? There’s a hard way and then there’s an easy way. By using our powerful tool you can translate a series of drawings from one language to another without having to manually go through each file.

Click here for a free download trial version

Conventional methods:

When AutoCAD drawings need to be translated into a different language, conventional methods are expensive, slow and prone to error.

Problems translating AutoCAD drawings on your own:

• Text can difficult to find on large AutoCAD drawings, all texts may not be found.
• The translator must be familiar with AutoCAD.
• BLOCKS containing TEXTS and variable ATTRIBUTES may cause problems.
• The procedure may be extremely slow.

Benefits using our translator tool:

• Allows the translator to concentrate on the translation work.
• The translator does not have to work in the AutoCAD environment.
• Your translated database (Ms Excel) runs outside of the AutoCAD.
• The graphical formatting of elements stays unaffected after the translation.
• Translated files might be produced in hours, not days.

Back to Top

Translates AutoCAD drawings in 2 ways

Our tool can work on individual file or in batch mode.  Either way, your AutoCAD drawings will be translated into your desired language using just three steps.

Translate a single drawing

With this function you translate the active drawing, using an Excel workbook.

Translate AutoCAD drawings in batch mode

You can translate entire projects or folders of AutoCAD drawings with batch run. After the start, the translator tool asks you to choose the drawings in a dialog box that displays the preview of the drawings.  The first run saves all the texts in the drawings, in an Excel workbook. This file should be translated manually, or using a CAT tool (such as Trados, Systran, WordFast, SDLX, DejaVu, etc.) or using the internet.  The second run translates all the chosen drawings using the updated Excel file

Requirements:
AutoCAD 2007 - AutoCAD 2012 / Ms Excel 2000 or higher

Technical specifications

With DwgTextTranslator you can convert an unlimited number of AutoCAD drawings from one language to another rapidly and efficiently.  This is achieved by running batches.

Preview of drawings:
When selecting drawings to be included in the translation process you can see thumbnails of the drawings.

Translating numbers:
By default, the DwgTextTranslator omits texts that contain only numbers, but you can configure the application to also include numbers in the translation process.

Layers included in the translation process:
You can choose the layers you want to translate, this speeds up the translation process and you can easily omit such layers which texts you don't want to translate.

Layer for the translations:
You can define a layer for the output translations.  In this case all translations will be placed on a layer you define, the default name of this layer is "Translations", but you can freely choose the name of the layer and it's color. In this way you can have both the source language and the translations on different layers in the same  drawings.  You can have English texts on the layer "English" and Chinese texts on the layer "Chinese".

Use a CAT tool for the translation work
Translate the texts with your favorite CAT tool (Trados, Systran, WordFast, SDLX, DejaVu, etc.)

Internet translations:
You can also request translations from an internet service, directly from the within the application.  This is useful if you do not have a CAT tool.

Elements included in the translations process:
The application translates all AutoCAD text elements: texts, mtexts, blocks attributes, and blocks texts and mtexts.  Also AutoCAD proxy entities are translated.

Mtexts:
The application uses a smart system to deal with AutoCAD multi-line texts (MTEXTS).  This means that the formatting parameters and the actual texts are separated, so you only need to deal with the text content.

Unicoded languages:
You can translate to, or from unicoded languages, such as Chinese, Russian or Japanese.  When translating to such languages you can define which big-font you want to use for the translations texts.

Sorting the texts:
The texts are saved in the Excel workbook in a descending order from the top of the drawings.  This makes it is easier to read and translate the texts in the  workbook.

Speed:
All time critical routines are placed in an arx-module, which means that the conversion process is extremely fast.  You can convert a thousand drawings in less than an hour.

Use the application as an add-on:
You can use the DwgTextTranslator as an add-on on other AutoCAD applications.  You only need to include the path of the DwgTextTranslator in the support path of your favorite AutoCAD application.

Files:
You can access all files output by the application from within the DwgTextTranslator.

Requirements:
AutoCAD 2007 - AutoCAD 2012 / Ms Excel 2000 or higher.

How it works

Step 1:  You select the drawings that you want to translate.  The translator tool goes trough the drawings and exports their texts to the column "Drawing text" in an Ms Excel table.  In this example we translate English drawings to Chinese ones.

Step 2:You translate the table by filling the "Target text" column with the translations. This can be done in different ways:

• Using a CAT tool, such as Trados, Systran or DejaVu.
• Using DwgTextTranslator's internet CAT tool.
• By typing the translations.

Step 3:  The translator tool  goes trough the drawings, and translates them using the updated table.