What PDF file content is supported by Azure Translator?

Question

We are using Azure Translator to translate various files such as PDF, Excel, Word...from different languages to English. However, there's an issue with some PDF files which are not supported by the service. Can someone provide some guidance on identifying which PDF documents are supported by Azure Translator and which are not? I've included a sample error message for reference.

{
            "id": "8dc4d05f-ef68-4699-8291-3137525d0b43",
            "createdDateTimeUtc": "2024-04-02T04:24:29.3514618Z",
            "lastActionDateTimeUtc": "2024-04-02T04:24:35.1535976Z",
            "status": "Failed",
            "error": {
                "code": "ServiceUnavailable",
                "message": "The document or part of its content is unsupported.",
                "target": "Operation",
                "innerError": {
                    "code": "UnsupportedDocumentContent",
                    "message": "The document or part of its content is unsupported."
                }
            },
            "summary": {
                "total": 1,
                "failed": 1,
                "success": 0,
                "inProgress": 0,
                "notYetStarted": 0,
                "cancelled": 0,
                "totalCharacterCharged": 0
            }
        }

Answer 1

Hi @Vincent Nguyen,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum!

Based on the error message you provided, it seems that the PDF document or part of its content is unsupported by Azure Translator.

Azure Translator supports a wide range of file formats, including PDF, but PDF documents should contain selectable text, meaning that the text can be highlighted and copied. If the PDF document contains scanned images or non-selectable text, Azure Translator will not be able to translate it.

However, you can check if the text in the document is selectable. If you are able to do so, the document is likely supported by Azure Translator. Also check if the PDF document is corrupted or damaged, password-protected, contains any unsupported fonts or characters and is too large.

I hope this helps. Do let us know if the above suggestion doesn't work.

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