File formats we accept and deliver.
Send your files as they are. The instant quote reads most formats directly, and for the rest you type in the count. You receive the finished work in your own formats.
Formats the instant quote reads
Upload up to 20 files in one quote, each up to 50 MB and 200 MB in total. This is what the quote counts in each format.
- PDF documentsPDF
- The text on every page. Scanned pages are read with text recognition, and blank pages are not charged.
- Word documentsDOCX
- Body text, headers, footers, footnotes and endnotes. Deleted tracked changes are not counted.
- PowerPoint presentationsPPTX
- The text on every visible slide, tables included. Hidden slides and speaker notes are not counted.
- Excel spreadsheetsXLSX
- The text in the cells of every sheet.
- InDesign filesIDML
- The pages and all the text in the document. Editorial notes are not counted.
- ImagesJPGPNGGIFWEBPTIFFHEIC
- Each image is one page, and its text is read with text recognition. For layout, an image is priced as a scanned page.
- Text and web pagesTXTMDHTMLCSV
- The text itself, without any HTML code.
- String filesJSONARBXLIFFXLFPOSTRINGSRESXYAMLPROPERTIESXML
- Only the text to translate: values, never keys. Placeholders and tags are not counted, and in XLIFF only the source text counts.
- SubtitlesSRTVTTSBV
- The words of every subtitle, and the running time up to the last subtitle, rounded up to the next whole minute.
- VideoMP4MOVM4VWEBM
- The running time, rounded up to the next whole minute.
- AudioMP3WAVM4AAAC
- The running time, rounded up to the next whole minute.
Files the quote accepts but cannot open
These upload normally, but the quote cannot read them. It asks you for the number of pages and words, or the minutes, and prices them straight away.
- Pages typed in for a design file are priced as complex pages.
- Password-protected PDFs need the word count typed in.
- ZIP archives are not opened, so upload the files inside them one by one.
- For InDesign, an IDML export is read directly. For Word, Excel and PowerPoint, saving as DOCX, XLSX or PPTX does the same.
Scanned documents and photos
Pages with no usable text layer, such as scans and photos of documents, are read with text recognition on our own server. Your files are never passed to outside services.
For a long scanned document, the word count is estimated from a sample of its pages, and the quote tells you so. For layout, a scanned page is rebuilt from the image, as our How we quote page explains.
Formats and tools by service
Beyond the instant quote, these are the formats and tools our teams work in for each service. We work in most translation platforms, so we can take string files straight from yours, or plain exports if that is easier for your team.
Website and app localisation
Software and game localisation
Video localisation
E-learning and course creation
Arabic desktop publishing
Transcreation and Arabic copy
Using a different format? Send it anyway. If we cannot work with it, we will tell you and suggest an alternative.
What we deliver back
You receive the work in the format you sent, or in the one you publish in.
- Documents
- The same editable file, translated. For layout work, press-ready and screen PDFs plus the editable source files, so your team owns the result.
- Websites, apps and software
- Your string files with keys, placeholders and variables intact, ready to go straight back into your build.
- Video
- Subtitles as SRT or VTT, or burned into the picture, and voiceover mixed or as clean stems.
- Courses
- Tested SCORM or xAPI packages that upload cleanly to your LMS.
Sending files over 50 MB
Each file in the instant quote can be up to 50 MB. For anything larger, upload it to a file-sharing service such as WeTransfer or Google Drive and send us the download link through the contact page, with a short note about the project. We reply within one working day.
For a video, you can also upload a smaller, lower-resolution copy to the instant quote: the running time, and so the price, stays the same. Send the full-quality file as a link once you have ordered.
You can also email the link to hello@arabictranslationservice.com.
Get a quote for your Arabic project.
Upload your files and see a fixed price straight away.