Translation Panel
The translation panel is the full window for entering source text and comparing results from one or more translation capabilities. It can open with selected text or as an empty panel for text you type or paste.
Choose which capabilities participate
Section titled “Choose which capabilities participate”Each translation result comes from a translation capability. The service that contains the capability holds its shared configuration, but the capability is what runs the translation.
In the service’s capability row, set a translation capability to participate in translation when you want it included in normal panel runs. See Configure Capabilities for the complete setup path.
When you start a normal translation, the panel runs participating capabilities that are configured, currently available, and compatible with the current conditions and language pair. Each matching capability gets its own result card, so you can compare wording or copy the result you prefer.
Enter and translate text
Section titled “Enter and translate text”Type or paste text into the main input. Press Enter to translate, or use Shift + Enter when you need a new line without starting translation.
Change the source or target language from the panel when needed. The same text and language selection are used for all capabilities in that run.
When a capability does not run
Section titled “When a capability does not run”The panel can explain why a capability did not produce a result. For example, its conditions may not match, it may not support the current language pair, it may need configuration, it may be unavailable, or the restored history entry may not contain a result from it.
When a skipped capability offers Enable once, use it to run that capability for the current text. This does not change its saved participation setting or conditions. If the panel instead offers Manage or Configure, follow that action to change the capability’s saved setup.
Once execution starts, a failure stays on that capability’s result card. You can retry that card without clearing results from the other capabilities.
Refresh one result or the full translation
Section titled “Refresh one result or the full translation”Use the retry action on a result card when you only want to run that capability again.
Float Translate can reuse a completed result for the same request. This avoids repeating work when nothing relevant has changed.
Use Force translate when you want a fresh whole-panel run immediately—even on the first translation. It ignores matching completed results, runs the normally applicable participating capabilities again, and stores the refreshed results. Retranslate applies the same fresh-run behavior to text already shown in the panel.
Favorite a translation
Section titled “Favorite a translation”Use the star action or its shortcut to favorite the current translation. Run the same action again to remove it from favorites. The action is unavailable when the source text is empty.
Keyboard shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard shortcuts”These shortcuts work only inside the translation panel. They do not replace the configurable system shortcuts that open Float Translate from another app.
| Action | Windows / Linux | macOS | Works when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translate | Enter | Enter | The input is focused |
| Insert a new line | Shift Enter | Shift Enter | The input is focused |
| Force translate | Ctrl Enter | Command Enter | The input is focused; bypasses the completed-result cache |
| Previous history | ArrowUp | ArrowUp | The cursor is at the beginning of the input |
| Retranslate | Ctrl R | Command R | The window is interactive; bypasses the completed-result cache |
| Favorite / unfavorite | Ctrl S | Command S | The window is interactive and the source text is not empty |
| Close the translation panel | Ctrl W or Esc | Command W or Esc | The window is interactive; Esc dismisses an open layer or exits Manage mode first |
Input shortcuts require focus in the main input. Window shortcuts do not require input focus, but they pause while a menu, dialog, or temporary editor needs the same keys. During IME composition, Enter remains available to the input method instead of starting translation.
Esc follows the visible interface: it dismisses an open menu or word detail first, exits Manage mode safely when active, and closes the translation panel when nothing else needs to be dismissed.