How to automatically translate websites (in Chrome and Edge)

Aug 16

Hello Heroes!

Whether you are using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as your preferred browser, you will certainly come across sites in a different language than yours that you will want to translate – to get better context or to quickly copy and paste bits of information you can check later on. In my experience I have found 2 great uses for this:

1. You are researching and come across sources of information in a language you don’t understand. There you can translate and get more context into what you are looking for.

2. You are researching in your own language, but you have to share that information with an audience in a different language. In this case, the easiest thing is to translate, then copy and paste.

Providing that the websites in question do not have images or elements different than text, your browsers offer native ways of translating (and offering you to translate) languages different from your default system language.

For Google Chrome

You will want to go to settings and search for Languages (it might be under the advanced section). Once in Languages, open up the Language submenu and activate the option “Offer to translate pages that aren’t in a language you read”.

This will create a prompt anytime that you visit a site with a language different than your default.

In addition, you can add languages you are fluent on or that you don’t need translation for, and then enable or disable “Offer to translate pages in this language”

After these settings have been enabled, next time you visit a page you will get this notification and then you can choose the settings for your translation and your default translation language.

For Microsoft Edge

You will want to go to settings and search for Languages. Once in Languages, activate the option “Offer to translate pages that aren’t in a language I read”.

This will create a prompt anytime that you visit a site with a language different than your default.

In addition, you can add languages you are fluent on or that you don’t need translation for, and then enable or disable “Offer to translate pages in this language”

After these settings have been enabled, next time you visit a page you will get this notification and then you can choose the settings for your translation and your default translation language.