Effortless Document Translation in SharePoint
Ah, the joys of working in a global company. One minute you’re reading a report in English, the next you’re handed something in German, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get an email in French (Hon! Hon!) just to spice things up. What’s a poor monolingual soul to do?
Say goodbye to the old days of copy-pasting into questionable online translators (we’ve all been there) or begging Sandra in HR to “take a quick look because she took Spanish in college.” With this nifty feature, your documents are translated securely and beautifully right from your SharePoint library. SharePoint Premium Document Translation ( under the syntex umbrella ), it’s like magic but without the Hogwarts tuition fees.
Breaking Down the Costs
Let’s talk numbers. This feature fallow the model Syntex PAYG , SharePoint charges $15 for one million characters. To put that in perspective:
- One million characters is about 200 pages of single-spaced text in standard formatting.
- This article? Roughly 10,000 characters. That’s a whopping $0.15 to translate it.
So while SharePoint won’t write your annual report for you ( but Copilot may ) , it’ll translate it for less than the cost of a vending machine snack.
How It Works (Hint: It’s Really Easy)
Here’s the deal: you’ve got three ways to pick which SharePoint libraries get the magic touch of Document Translation.
- Libraries in all SharePoint sites – Translation for everyone, everywhere!
- Libraries in selected sites – Be picky: search for specific sites or upload a CSV of site URLs.
- No SharePoint libraries – Translation? What’s that?
Personally, I’m all in on making life easier, so I went with the first option: Libraries in all SharePoint sites. Why complicate things, right?
Using SharePoint Premium Document Translation is quick, simple, and effective .
- Upload Your Document
Drag your file into the SharePoint library like you normally would. No need for special folders or secret handshakes. - Hit Translate
Right-click your document, choose Translate, and select your target language. Done. - Celebrate the Results
The translated document appears in the same library, looking just as polished as the original. Formatting stays put, and metadata comes along for the ride.
What’s the Catch?
Okay, here’s the deal: the translation is done by AI, not a native speaker. It’s great for business documents, reports, or presentations, but don’t expect it to ace your poetry anthology or marketing campaign slogans.
For critical documents, let a native speaker give it a quick once-over. Think of the AI as your efficient first draft, saving you time without sacrificing too much quality.
So, Is It Worth It?
With support for 133 languages, thanks to its integration with Azure Translation Services, the answer is an absolute no-brainer: yes!. It’s fast, affordable, and keeps your formatting intact—…all without tossing your documents into the uncharted depths of the internet.
Next time someone drops a document in a language you don’t understand, just smile, open SharePoint, and let the magic happen. You’ll look like a genius, save your company time and money, and finally stop bothering Carla in accounting.
Everyone wins.
