How to Summarize a Long PDF and Translate It (Free)
By the DocEpic team · Updated · 2 min read
A 60-page tender, a long circular from the office, a chapter to revise the night before an exam: often you only need the main points. And documents in a language you don't read well are more common than ever. This guide shows how to get a quick summary of any PDF and how to translate one, with honest notes on what each option can and can't do.
Summarize a PDF
PDF Summarizer gives you the key points of a PDF to read on screen or download.
- Open PDF Summarizer and add your PDF.
- Choose the length — short, medium or long — and the style: key points or a paragraph.
- Choose the pages if you only need part of the document, and tick Read scanned pages with OCR for scanned PDFs.
- Read the summary and download it as Markdown if you want to keep it.
By default the summary picks the most important sentences from the document itself, privately and instantly in your browser. In desktop Chrome with its built-in AI, a rewritten summary may also be offered.
What a summary can and can't do
A key-sentence summary uses the document's own words, so it never invents anything — but it can't explain or combine ideas the way a person would. Use it to decide which parts to read properly, to revise, or to get the gist of a notice. For anything important — a contract, a legal notice, exam rules — read the original sections the summary points you to.
Translate a PDF
Translate PDF translates the text page by page and gives you a Word document, a PDF or plain text in the new language. It keeps headings, paragraphs and page breaks, but not the original layout and images. Right now it uses the translator built into desktop Chrome, so the text never leaves your device; on other browsers it will say that translation isn't available.
For a quick translation of a few paragraphs on any device, you can also copy the text out with PDF to Markdown and paste it into the translator you usually use.
Scanned PDFs
Both tools need text to work with. For a scanned PDF, tick Read scanned pages with OCR, or make it searchable first with OCR PDF, which reads English, Hindi and many other languages.
Questions people ask
Can I summarize a PDF for free?
Yes. PDF Summarizer picks the key sentences of your PDF in your browser, with no sign-up and no upload.
Can I translate a PDF into Hindi?
Yes, in desktop Chrome, which has a built-in translator: choose Hindi and download a Word document, PDF or text.
Is my document sent anywhere?
No. The key-sentence summary and Chrome's built-in translator both work on your device.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes, with OCR: tick Read scanned pages with OCR, or run the PDF through OCR PDF first.