Diglot help

How do I install Diglot?

Open Diglot's page in the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome. Diglot needs Google Chrome 138 or later on a desktop computer. Then pin it to the toolbar (below) so its icon is always one click away.

How do I translate a page?

Open the page, then click the Diglot icon in the toolbar (or press Alt+Shift+D). Diglot translates the paragraphs on your screen first, then the rest as you scroll. Each translation appears just under its paragraph. You can close the popup: translation continues.

How do I pin Diglot to the toolbar?

Click the puzzle-piece icon next to the address bar, then the pin next to Diglot. To change the shortcut, open chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Which language does Diglot translate into?

Into your browser's language, unless you chose another one in Settings → Translate into. For one page, change From or Into in the popup: Diglot starts again with those languages.

"This page is already in English."

The page is in the language Diglot translates into. Choose another language in Into.

"Diglot couldn't tell which language this page is in."

The page is too short, or mixes languages. Choose the page's language in From.

Bilingual, Translation, Original: what's the difference?

Bilingual shows the original with the translation under each paragraph. Translation shows only the translation, at the size of the page's text. Original hides the translations without stopping. Settings → Start in chooses the first view.

How do I get the page back as it was?

Click Stop and restore the page in the popup. Diglot removes every translation, mark and style it added, stops watching the page, and forgets the page's text. Reloading the page also removes the translations, except on a site you set to always translate: there Diglot starts again by itself.

"Machine translation · may contain errors"

Diglot writes this under the first paragraph it translates on a page, and the popup says "Machine translation, made on this device." Every translation Diglot adds is also marked as machine translation in the page's code (for other tools and assistive technology).

"Downloading the French–English language pack."

The first time you read a language pair, Chrome downloads its translation model once (about 80 MB; the very first pack also installs Chrome's translation library, about 20 MB more). You can keep reading while it downloads. After that, that pair translates offline, on every site.

"Chrome needs a click to download the … language pack."

Sometimes Chrome only allows a pack download after a click. Click Download language pack in the popup; translation starts when it is ready.

"You're offline."

A language pack needs a connection once. Connect, then click Try again. Pairs you already downloaded work offline.

"Chrome can't translate Latin into English on this device."

Chrome's built-in translator does not support that language pair. Change the language in From or Into.

"This browser has no built-in translator."

Diglot uses the translator built into Google Chrome 138 or later on a desktop computer. Other browsers may not have it: use Google Chrome, and update it (Menu → Help → About Google Chrome). On a computer managed by an organisation, an administrator may have turned Chrome's built-in AI features off.

"Translation paused" / "Diglot translates only while this window is open."

In the Chrome versions Diglot was tested on, translation runs in the background. If a version of Chrome ever stops allowing that, Diglot's popup does the translating instead, while it is open: keep it open while you read, and translation goes on as soon as you open Diglot again.

"Chrome doesn't let extensions read this page."

Chrome's own pages (chrome://…), the Chrome Web Store, other extensions' pages and Chrome's PDF viewer can't be read by any extension. Open a regular web page.

"Diglot can't read files on your computer yet."

To translate a page saved on your computer, open Diglot's details in chrome://extensions, turn on Allow access to file URLs, then reload the page.

"The page is slow to answer."

The page is still loading, or is busy. Wait a moment: Diglot starts as soon as the page answers. If nothing happens, reload the page and click Diglot again.

"No paragraphs to translate here"

Diglot translates paragraphs of text: articles, documentation, forum threads. It leaves out menus, buttons, code blocks, form fields and parts a page marks "do not translate". If the page is still loading its text, Diglot starts by itself when the text appears (it watches for about a minute); you can also click Try again.

Is the translation accurate?

It is a machine translation made on your device by Chrome's built-in model. It is good for reading along, but idioms are often translated word for word and some sentences come out wrong. The original always stays next to it: when a translation looks odd, read the original.

Is my page text sent anywhere?

No. Diglot reads the paragraphs in the tab and gives them to Chrome's built-in translator, which runs on your computer. Diglot does not store page text or translations, and has no translation server. Chrome downloads language packs from Google once, without your page text.

Does it translate PDFs, images or videos?

No, only the text of web pages.

Screen readers and the keyboard.

Translations carry their language, so screen readers switch voice. In the Translation view, screen readers read the translation only, except for a paragraph that draws its own box (a bordered quote, a callout): there they read the original, then the translation. With Hide translations until I point at a paragraph (Pro), put the text cursor in a paragraph (caret browsing: F7) to show its translation, or turn on Show every translation on this page in the popup.

The translations look too big / too pale / too close.

With Pro, Settings → Reading sets the translation size, its ink (graphite, the text's colour, or faint) and the spacing, with a live preview. Diglot picks an ink that stays readable on the page's background colour; over a picture or a gradient, where it cannot read the colour, it uses the page's own text colour.

Diglot Pro.

Pro adds: Always translate a site (Diglot starts by itself on that site; Chrome asks you to allow that one site), reading preferences, Hide translations until I point at a paragraph, translating any selected text in a small popover, and copying or downloading the page you are reading as bilingual Markdown. Diglot Pro costs $15 paid once (a one-time purchase) or $2.49 a month (a monthly subscription, cancel anytime), including any VAT or sales tax, for one person on up to 5 Chrome installations at the same time. After purchase you receive a license key by email: Settings → License → paste it → Activate. Pro checks your license about once a day when you are online and keeps working offline for up to 30 days after the last successful check; after that, Pro features pause until the next successful check. Translating pages stays free, without limits.

How does the monthly subscription work, and how do I cancel it?

Diglot Pro is also sold as a monthly subscription: $2.49 a month, including any VAT or sales tax, with no commitment and no free trial. It renews every month until you cancel it. To cancel, open Settings → License → Manage billing (the Lemon Squeezy customer portal; the same link is in your receipt e-mail and on the Support page of our website, and it stays there even when Pro is not active in this browser) and cancel the subscription there; the portal also changes your payment method and has your invoices. Pro stays on until the end of the month you already paid for; after that, Diglot works as its free version, and you can buy Pro again at any time. Removing the extension does not cancel the subscription. Monthly payments are not refunded (except when an update removes a Pro feature: see section 6 of the terms of sale), but the 14-day money-back guarantee covers your first purchase of Diglot Pro, one-time or monthly. The one-time purchase costs the same as six months of the subscription.

How do I move Pro to another computer?

Settings → License → Remove license from this browser, then activate the key on the other browser. Removing it frees one of your 5 installations. If you can no longer open the old browser, write to us from the support page and we will free that installation.

Bilingual Markdown (Pro).

Copy or Download in the popup gives you the page you are reading, each paragraph followed by its translation. It is for your personal use: the file starts with the page's address, the date, a line saying the translation is automatic, and a reminder that the text belongs to its authors. Do not republish a page or its translation without their permission.

How do I stop translating a site automatically?

Turn off Always translate <site> in the popup on that site, or Settings → Always-on sites → Remove. Diglot gives the site access back to Chrome.

Open-source software.

Diglot includes open-source code and fonts, each under its own license: Settings → Open-source licenses lists them.

Reset and uninstall.

Settings → Privacy → Reset all data deactivates the license on this browser and clears settings and always-on sites. Site access you granted stays in chrome://extensions → Diglot → Details → Site access until you remove it there (nothing runs without a listed site). Uninstalling removes everything Diglot stored. Language packs belong to Chrome, which manages them.