Translate Selected Text

Translate Selected Text lets you decide when Float Translate should read the current selection. Select text, press the shortcut, and Float Translate brings the source into the full translation panel and starts translating.

Use it when translation should start only after you confirm the action. If every copy or text selection should trigger automatically, use Automatic Translation.

Set the shortcut

The initial setup guides you through assigning a shortcut to Translate Selected Text. You can change it later under Settings → Shortcuts → Translation.

Translate selected text

1. Select a word, sentence, or passage in the current app.
2. Press the shortcut for Translate Selected Text.
3. The translation panel opens with the selected source text and starts translating.

This entry works wherever the current app can expose its text selection to the operating system.

Type or paste text yourself

Pressing the same shortcut without a usable selection opens an empty translation panel. You can type or paste the source text there.

When the selection is not captured

If you expected the selected text to be translated but an empty panel opened, Float Translate did not receive a selection from the current app.

1. Select the text again and retry the shortcut.
2. If the app cannot expose its selection reliably, copy the text and paste it into the translation panel.
3. If the text is inside an image, video, game, or remote desktop, use Screenshot Translation.

Use Cursor Lookup instead when you only need a word or short phrase under the pointer.