# About Language translation in your Slack workspace Translate for Slack is app that you can install into your Slack workspace that helps teams communicate in multiple languages by providing [manual](/features/manual-translation) and [automatic](/features/automatic-translation) language translation services. You can use Translate for Slack to translate text or messages into [any language](/features/supported-languages). There are several ways to use Translate. ### Manual Translation There are four ways translate a single message or block of text, and optionally post the translation to a channel. {% content-ref url="/pages/OjdmQsA0kfAxTsvEpGPv" %} [Manual Translation](/features/manual-translation) {% endcontent-ref %} ### Automatic Translation There are two ways to automatically translate (your own or ALL) messages sent to a channel. {% content-ref url="/pages/OxuvXOt7oWwwNazZIUcS" %} [Automatic Translation](/features/automatic-translation) {% endcontent-ref %} # Installation Install Translate for Slack To install (or update) Translate, use the [Add To Slack](https://translate.technology/direct_install) button below: [![Add to Slack](https://platform.slack-edge.com/img/add_to_slack.png)](https://apps.mt-hacks.com/translate/direct_install) Or [install directly from the Translate page in the Slack App Directory](https://slack.com/apps/A0ZJS6Z7E-translate). # Free Trial 30 days of free access to all premium features When you first install Translate for Slack, you will be placed in the FREE plan. This plan has numerous features that are sufficient for many teams. **For the first 30 days, you will also have access to 100% of the premium features** included in the paid plans. This is to provide you the opportunity to trial these advanced features to help make an assessment about potentially upgrading to a paid plan in future, based on the needs of your team. {% content-ref url="/pages/YglZLDMGyXTQbpoNORuU" %} [Plans](/plans-and-pricing/plans) {% endcontent-ref %} # Manual Translation Manual TranslationThere are four methods you can use to translate a single message or a block of text: * use the `Translate this message` shortcut to translate any message. * use the `Translate text` global shortcut to translate any text in any language, and then (optionally) post it to a channel. * use a form to translate text (very similar to the method above). * use the `/translate` slash command to to translate any text in any language, and then (optionally) post it to a channel. For each of the above methods, translations are (initially) shown only to the user requesting the translation. See below for more info about each method. {% content-ref url="/pages/w9IFoMiJLxYbqStkvQ0K" %} [Slash Command](/features/manual-translation/slash-command) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/5Yzoi8E3ES3r3IIpe4y9" %} [Translate Text Shortcut](/features/manual-translation/translate-text-shortcut) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/yuDG1LCSZps9XkLMT3j3" %} [Translate this Message](/features/manual-translation/translate-this-message) {% endcontent-ref %} # Slash Command /translate ("slash translate") The `/translate` slash command is the original feature of Translate for Slack. Where it all started. It performs the same functions as the form described above, by entering a command-line style message into the composer. Enter /translate followed by a language code, followed by the text to be translated, like this: {% embed url="" %} /translate Slash Command {% endembed %} ### Tips * the command and language should be plaintext, they should not have any formatting in them * only a space should separate the command from the language code and another space between the code and the text * you can enter /translate help to get list of language codes {% embed url="" %} /translate Slash Command Results {% endembed %} The translation appears as a message *visible only to you*, with a button to (optionally) post the translation into the current channel. # Translate Text Shortcut Use a form to translate a block of text Global Shortcuts is a Slack feature being that can be accessed via the lightning bolt icon in the composer (formatting) toolbar, as shown here. The shortcuts icon will reveal a menu of shortcuts from apps that you have installed, including Translate. Choose the `Translate Text` shortcut: {% embed url="" %} Translate Text Shortcut {% endembed %} The `Translate Text` shortcut will bring up a form that you can use to enter or paste text in any language, to be translated in your chosen language. For example, you can paste text in another language and translate it to your language, or you can enter text in *your own* language to translate into *another* language, which you can optionally copy/paste or post into a channel or DM. {% embed url="" %} Translate Text Shortcut Form {% endembed %} {% embed url="" %} Translate Text Shortcut/Form Results {% endembed %} # Form Use a form to translate a block of text This method of manually translating text is *very similar* to the [Translate Text Shortcut](/features/manual-translation/translate-text-shortcut). In fact, the form is *exactly* the same. The only difference is the way you access the form. The shortcut is the easiest and most convenient way to get the form. But you can also bring up the form by clicking a \[Translate] button or using the `/translate` command with nothing after the command. {% content-ref url="/pages/5Yzoi8E3ES3r3IIpe4y9" %} [Translate Text Shortcut](/features/manual-translation/translate-text-shortcut) {% endcontent-ref %} # Translate this Message Manually translate a single message in a channel You can translate any message that has been posted in Slack by using the Shortcuts menu (icon with 3 vertical dots) to find the `Translate this message` shortcut. Translations will be sent as a message that is *only visible to you*. This is a great feature when a channel has occasional messages in *other* languages, that you want to translate into *your* language. It may also be useful in channels where you are the only member who needs translations. {% embed url="" %} Translate this message shortcut {% endembed %} # Post This Posting a manual translation to the channel or DM Manually translated messages are shown only to the user requesting the translation, whether via the `/translate` command or via a form. In some cases, you may want to then post the translation to the channel or DM and the \[Post This] button enables you do do this without copying and pasting:
# Automatic Translation Enable automatic translation of messages in certain channels There are two way to enable Automatic Translation in a channel. You can enable auto-translation of only your own messages, or you can enable auto-translation for all team members posting to a channel. {% content-ref url="/pages/iqymkAgD2TekIwZ5WCsW" %} [Translate YOUR Messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-your-messages) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/MgD4ZUMU8Z3EI5w3jyZB" %} [Translate ALL Messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-all-messages) {% endcontent-ref %} # Translate YOUR Messages Automatically translate all of your own messages in a channel You can setup automatic translation for any channel or Direct Message. Choose the language and desired [posting format](/features/automatic-translation/display-format), and then every message you send in that channel will automatically be translated and posted for all team members in that channel to see. No need copy-and-paste or click a button to share the translated text. A huge time-saver for teams that speak different languages. Here is a video showing Auto Translation setup: {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} Enable Automatic Translation {% endembed %} {% content-ref url="/pages/72oM6BhMlx2dlPuQYxgv" %} [Display Format](/features/automatic-translation/display-format) {% endcontent-ref %} # Translate ALL Messages Automatically translate messages from ALL members in a channel Using a similar process, you can enable Automatic Translation of ALL messages in a channel. This will translate messages from everyone posting to the channel, unless their message is already in the desired language. Other channel members do not have to enable nor configure anything -- all new messages will immediately be translated. Depending on the [`Display Format`](/features/automatic-translation/display-format) you choose, channel members *may* be asked to authorize Translate to act on their behalf, granting permission for Translate to modify messages to include the translated text. Authorization is *optional* -- translations for members who have not authorized will be shown in the channel as separare messages. {% embed url="" %} Enable Automatic Translation of ALL Messages {% endembed %} # Display Format Choose how automatic translations are shown in the channel There are five choices for `Display Format` when enabling automatic translation in channel. Note that `Source First`, `Translation First`, and `Replace` require the user to [Authorize](/features/authorize) the app to edit their messages to add translation. ### Source First The source message in the original language is display first, with the translated message shown below.

An automatically translated message with "Source First" display format

### Translation First The translated message is shown first, with the source message in the orginal language shown below.

An automatically translated message with "Translation First" display format

### Replace With the `Replace` display format, the source message in the original language is *replaced* by the translation. Only the translated text is displayed to other channel members. This format keeps the channel very clean and enables more natural conversation between team members using different languages. At the same time, there are some potential drawbacks to consider before choosing `Replace`: * Translations are very accurate but not perfect. Having the source message included can provide important context to better understand messages (when members have some comprehension of the source language) * Even the posting member will only be able to see the translated messages when they review past conversations in the channel. Again, having the source message in their own language can help provide context about the messages sent.

A use entering a message in their own language, with "Replace" display format chosen

An automatically translated message with "Replace" display format

### New Message The `New Message` display format will send translations to the channel as a separate message. The original message, in the source language, will be posted to the channel unchanged -- and a second message will be sent with the translation. Note: *in cases where a user has not authorized Translate to edit their messages, the `New Message` format will be the default.*

An automatically translated message with "Replace" display format - Two separate messages

### Thread Reply With the `Thread Reply` display format, the translation is posted a separate message *as a thread reply to the source message*. The reply in the thread is not *also* shown in the main channel view. To reveal the translation, members *must* open the thread.

The channel listing will show a reply in a thread...

...the thread must be opened to view the translation

The `Thread Reply` display format can be very useful in a scenario where only a small number of channel members require translation. For example, consider a channel with 10 members and 9 of the 10 speak French (but understand English) and 1 members speaks on English. The conversation happens in French but only 1 member requires translations to English. Rather than append English translations to every French message -- which all of the French members would see when they view the channel -- by choosing `Thread Reply` the English translations are only shown as replies to threads. This keeps the main channel view cleaner and easier to read. When French members see that a message has a single thread reply, they know that it contains the translation, so they don't need to open the thread. But the English member can open the theads to view the translations. # Channel Selector Dropdown selection or search to find the channel The `Channel` selector field on Translate forms is a special type of field. By default, it contains a dropdown list of conversations, which may include public, private, group, and direct message (DM) channels. If the channel you are looking for is *not* present in the list, however, you can start typing in the field to *search* for channels that match your input. The list updates as you enter each character.

Enter characters into the field to search through all channels

# Two Language Translation Enabling translation into two languages A common team scenario is a channel where there are members speaking two different languages. For example, consider the example of a channel where some members speak English and other speak Spanish. In this channel, members may want all English messages translated into Spanish and all Spanish messages translated into English. There are two ways to achieve this. ### Two Language Translation Feature The is a premium feature available on the PLUS [plan](/plans-and-pricing/plans) and during 30 day free trials. This features enables you to choose two languages when enabling automatic translation.

Two Language Feature on the PLUS plan

This feature is most commonly used when enabling a [Translate ALL Messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-all-messages) rule, that applies the two language automatic translation to ALL members of the channel in question. Note that translations are only made when needed, so messages written in English will only be translated to a single language (Spanish) and Spanish messages will only be translated to English. But if someone posted a message to the channel in *French* -- an uncommon scenario -- then *both* English and Spanish translations would be presented. This feature provides a very convenient way to set up two-way translation for an entire channel with minimal setup effort. ### Individual Setup Effectively, the same two language result can be achieved by teams of the PRO [plan](/plans-and-pricing/plans). To continue the example scenario above, each individual English speaking channel member would enable [translation of their own messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-your-messages) to Spanish, and each Spanish speaking members would enabled translation of *their own* messages to English. There is more setup involved, but once all channel members have enabled automatic translation, all English messages will be translated into Spanish and all Spanish messages will be translated into English. # DM Translation Automatically translate in Direct Message (DM) channels To setup automatic translation on a **Direct Message (DM)**, the `@translate` bot needs to be part of the DM. To do this, create a *new DM* that includes both `@translate` and the person you want to DM with. Now this new DM includes `@translate`, so the bot can perform auto-translations. Within the new DM, mention `@translate` to get the menu buttons, choose \[Settings], etc., [just as you would for any channel](/features/automatic-translation/translate-your-messages). # Disable Auto Translate Turn off automatic translation in a channel To disable automatic translation in any channel, you can choose `None` from the list of languages.
# Home Screen The Home screen is a dashboard where you can enable automatic translation and perform other functions On the `Home` tab of the direct message (DM) channel with `@Translate` you will find a menu of buttons and a list of enabled Automatic Translation rules/settings:

The "Home" tab of the DM with @Translate

* The `Settings` button is the default view of the home screen which enables you to: * Choose `Your Language` which will be used as the default language when using the [Translate this message](/features/manual-translation/translate-this-message) function * Create / Edit settings to [automatically translate YOUR messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-your-messages) in a specific channel or DM. * Create / Edit settings to [automatically translate ALL messages](/features/automatic-translation/translate-all-messages) in a specific channel or DM. These settings apply to every member of the channel. * Each automatic translation setting has an \[Edit] button which can be used to change the [language](/features/supported-languages) and/or the [Display format](/features/automatic-translation/display-format). * To [disable/delete an automatic translation setting](/features/automatic-translation/disable-auto-translate), use the \[Edit] button and then choose **None** from list of languages. * The `Translate` button on the home screen brings up a [form ](/features/manual-translation/translate-text-shortcut)that can be used to manually translate text. * The `Account` button displays your current plan and the number of characters you have used in the current calendar month. # Authorize Authorize Translate to append translations to your messages # Supported Languages Language supported for translation Translate for Slack supports the following languages for translation: * `af` (Afrikaans) * `sq` (Albanian) * `am` (Amharic) * `ar` (Arabic) * `hy` (Armenian) * `az` (Azerbaijani) * `eu` (Basque) * `be` (Belarusian) * `bn` (Bengali) * `bs` (Bosnian) * `bg` (Bulgarian) * `ca` (Catalan) * `ceb` (Cebuano) * `ny` (Chichewa) * `zh` (Chinese (Simplified)) * `zh-TW` (Chinese (Traditional)) * `co` (Corsican) * `hr` (Croatian) * `cs` (Czech) * `da` (Danish) * `nl` (Dutch) * `en` (English) * `eo` (Esperanto) * `et` (Estonian) * `tl` (Filipino) * `fi` (Finnish) * `fr` (French) * `fy` (Frisian) * `gl` (Galician) * `ka` (Georgian) * `de` (German) * `el` (Greek) * `gu` (Gujarati) * `ht` (Haitian Creole) * `ha` (Hausa) * `haw` (Hawaiian) * `iw` (Hebrew) * `hi` (Hindi) * `hmn` (Hmong) * `hu` (Hungarian) * `is` (Icelandic) * `ig` (Igbo) * `id` (Indonesian) * `ga` (Irish) * `it` (Italian) * `ja` (Japanese) * `jw` (Javanese) * `kn` (Kannada) * `kk` (Kazakh) * `km` (Khmer) * `ko` (Korean) * `ku` (Kurdish (Kurmanji)) * `ky` (Kyrgyz) * `lo` (Lao) * `la` (Latin) * `lv` (Latvian) * `lt` (Lithuanian) * `lb` (Luxembourgish) * `mk` (Macedonian) * `mg` (Malagasy) * `ms` (Malay) * `ml` (Malayalam) * `mt` (Maltese) * `mi` (Maori) * `mr` (Marathi) * `mn` (Mongolian) * `my` (Myanmar (Burmese)) * `ne` (Nepali) * `no` (Norwegian) * `ps` (Pashto) * `fa` (Persian) * `pl` (Polish) * `pt` (Portuguese) * `pa` (Punjabi) * `ro` (Romanian) * `ru` (Russian) * `sm` (Samoan) * `gd` (Scots Gaelic) * `sr` (Serbian) * `st` (Sesotho) * `sn` (Shona) * `sd` (Sindhi) * `si` (Sinhala) * `sk` (Slovak) * `sl` (Slovenian) * `so` (Somali) * `es` (Spanish) * `su` (Sundanese) * `sw` (Swahili) * `sv` (Swedish) * `tg` (Tajik) * `ta` (Tamil) * `te` (Telugu) * `th` (Thai) * `tr` (Turkish) * `uk` (Ukrainian) * `ur` (Urdu) * `uz` (Uzbek) * `vi` (Vietnamese) * `cy` (Welsh) * `xh` (Xhosa) * `yi` (Yiddish) * `yo` (Yoruba) * `zu` (Zulu) # Plans There are three plans: FREE, PRO, and PLUS When Translate is [installed](/getting-started/installation) on a Slack workspace, it is automatically placed on the FREE plan as described below, but also with a 30-day [free trial](/getting-started/free-trial) that includes the features of the PRO and PLUS plans, also described below. {% hint style="info" %} All plans include unlimited users and unlimited channels {% endhint %} ### The FREE Plan The FREE plan includes the following features: * Manual translation via the `/translate` [slash command](/features/manual-translation/slash-command) * Manual translation via a [shortcut](/features/manual-translation/translate-text-shortcut) ([form](/features/manual-translation/form)) * Translate individual messages in any channel via "[Translate this message](/features/manual-translation/translate-this-message)" * 100+ [languages supported](/features/supported-languages) * Up to 25,000 translated characters per month * Unlimited users and channels on a single Slack workspace * Price: FREE (credit card is NOT required) ### The PRO Plan The PRO plan includes the following features: * All of the features of the [FREE](#the-free-plan) plan listed above, plus... * The ability to [post a manual translation ](/features/manual-translation/post-this)to the channel or DM * [Automatic translation ](/features/automatic-translation)to a chosen language in any channel or [direct message](/features/automatic-translation/dm-translation) (DM) channel, configured either [individually](/features/automatic-translation/translate-your-messages) or [channel-wide](/features/automatic-translation/translate-all-messages) * Unlimited users and channels on a single Slack workspace * Up to 250,000 characters translated per month * Price: 29 USD monthly or 290 USD annually ### The PLUS Plan The PLUS plan includes the following features: * All of the features of the [PRO](#the-pro-plan) plan listed above, plus... * [Two-language automatic translation](/features/automatic-translation/two-language-translation) in any channel * Top priority for new feature requests * Up to 1,000,000 characters translated per month * Price: 69 USD monthly or 690 USD annually Need more than 1,000,000 characters translated per month? Please [reach out](/resources/contact)! # Upgrading Upgrade from one paid plan to another To upgrade from the FREE plan to a paid plan, you can follow any \[UPGRADE] buttons you man encounter while using Translate. To explicitly request an \[UPGRADE] button (customized for your Slack workspace, you can enter `/translate upgrade` *** To upgrade from a paid plan to another paid paid, or to switch from monthly to annual billing, [please contract support](/resources/contact). # Cancelling You can cancel a *paid plan* at any time and downgrade to the FREE plan. To cancel a paid plan, [please contract support](/resources/contact). *** If you wish to stop using Translate, it can be removed the same way as any Slack app. [The steps can be found at this link](https://slack.com/help/articles/360003125231-Remove-apps-and-custom-integrations-from-your-workspace). **Note:** if you are on a paid plan, you must *also* request cancellation of that plan. # Account Status Confirm plan and character usage The `Account` button on the [Home Screen](/features/automatic-translation/home-screen) displays your current plan and the number of characters you have used in the current calendar month.

Get account status via the [Account] button on the Home Screen

If you are on a paid plan, the Account screen will also include a button that can be used to **update the credit card number** for your billing account. # Update Credit Card Via the \[Accounts] button on the Home Screen If you are on a paid plan, the Accounts button on the [Home Screen](/features/automatic-translation/home-screen) will include a button that can be used to **update the credit card number** for your billing account. # Security The Translate app is hosted by Google Firebase Functions (Google Cloud) on US-based servers. Source messages are sent for translation only when explicitly requested either via manual translation or for configured channels for automatic translation. For clarity, note that Translate cannot receive nor translate any message from a channel that the `@Translate` bot is not a member of. Translation is powered by Google Translate. All communication between Slack and Google Cloud happens over SSL / HTTPS connections. Neither source nor translated messages are ever stored outside of your Slack workspace. # FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
How do I disable Automatic Translation of a channel? To [disable automatic translation](/features/automatic-translation/disable-auto-translate) in any channel, you can choose `None` from the list of languages.
Does Translate work for Slack "Guest Users"? Slack has some limits for Guest Users, and this partially impacts their use of Translate. Since Guest Users cannot authorize any apps, they will not be able to Authorize Translate to edit their messages to append translations. Instead, automatic translation messages will be sent a separate messages into the channel. *Single-Channel Guest users cannot use shortcut or slash commands*.
# Contact