Using Private Translation

Private Translation translates documents and text between languages using a multilingual model that runs entirely on your machine. Translation is one of the highest-stakes uses of cloud AI — contracts, regulatory submissions, internal investigations, and patient records routinely need translating, but pasting them into Google Translate or DeepL routes confidential content through someone else’s servers. This workflow keeps all of it on-device, and preserves the document’s formatting so the output is ready to use.

When to use it

• A foreign-language contract — translate a Chinese contract into English for internal counsel, keeping the clause structure intact.
• Localizing a policy — turn an English handbook into a Japanese version with the same headings and tables, ready for the local office.
• Reading source material — paste an excerpt of a foreign-language article and get a clean translation to quote in your report.
• Patient communication — translate a discharge summary into the patient’s primary language for handover.

How to use it

1. Open the Workflows view and choose Translate.
2. Give it your content — attach a document (DOCX, PDF, TXT) or paste a text snippet into the input box.
3. Pick the target language. The source language is auto-detected by default, but you can set it explicitly.
4. Leave Preserve formatting on to keep paragraph breaks and inline structure. Optionally turn on export and pick a format/layout (see below).
5. Send it. The translation streams in segment by segment, with progress like translating segment i / N.

Supported languages

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indonesian. The same workflow handles a quick snippet or a full document — there’s nothing new to learn for longer jobs.

The result

The translation appears in the app as a card headed with the source → target languages and the source length, followed by the translated text. When formatting is preserved, headings stay headings and lists stay lists, mirroring the structure of the original.

Exporting

Export is optional — the translation is usable on screen without it. When you do export, choose:

• Format — DOCX (default, keeps tables/headings/lists) or TXT. (This workflow doesn’t export PDF.)
• Layout — Translation only, or Side-by-side, which places the original and the translation in two columns for easy review. Side-by-side requires the DOCX format (Tholos AI snaps to DOCX automatically if you pick it).

Exported files go to the folder set in Settings. The Fully Offline badge stays visible throughout — nothing is sent anywhere.

Checking the result

• Open an exported DOCX and confirm the structural mirror: headings at the same levels, tables with the same rows and columns.
• Spot-check a few specific sentences for accuracy — against your own knowledge or a domain expert — especially specialized legal or medical terms.
• For mixed-language sources, confirm text that was already in the target language wasn’t double-translated.
• Confirm no network activity in Task Manager / Activity Monitor during the run.