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It is well known that Google can load PDF files properly, via PDF Viewer extensions.

My aim is to open a PDF file, and use the extensions like Google Dictionary, dict.cc, Google Translator on this file. These extensions work like this: You select a word by double clicking (just selection is enough) and its description pops out immediately.

No matter which extension I use, this function seems to work on only web pages, and not on PDF files, even though they both contain selectable text.

Is there any way to get these extensions to cooperate properly?

Update:

In JIRA, I have noticed that when one clicks to view an already uploaded PDF, the software brings the PDF in without opening a new tab, like a single page application does. I have tested Google dictionary and Google translator there, and they function pretty well. Thus, a possible way to deal with the issue would be to find an extension which runs the PDF like a single page application in a web page.

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  • Just a guess, but I'd say the reason it doesn't work from a PDF is because JavaScript doesn't execute on a PDF like it does on a web page.
    – freginold
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 14:26

5 Answers 5

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open your PDF file`s using this website: http://pdfviewer.softgateon.net/ (or similar website), then you can use Google Dictionary extensions

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try using mac osx instead.... I guess there's no way easy to solve this, except altering chrome's source code to replace the adobe pdf plugin.

"Due to technical restrictions, you cannot select text and translate it by a shortcut in PDF files in any browser. Unfortunately, we can do nothing with this. However, in Google Chrome you can select text and translate it instantly from the context menu." ----matetranslate.com

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I would recommend Read Aloud, a text-to-speech Chrome App. One of its awesome features is its built-in PDF viewer; it allows you to upload PDF files, then behaves as it would with a webpage. Alternatively, you can upload PDFs to Google Keep.

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I use Mendeley website for reading and managing my PDF files. In this way, the google-translate extension pop-up works on the text properly.

However, I understand that this is not an ideal solution as you need to register on the mentioned website and upload your PDF file which could be done by the Chrome browser itself ideally.

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A Chrome extension called Instant Multilingual PDF/HTML/TXT Translator can translate the selected text in the Chrome pdf viewer.

Although some reviews mention a "free quota" problem, I have not encountered this yet. At least it is constantly being updated.

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