Translate Any Text with a Single Click

If you frequently have to deal with documents or Web pages which are written in a foreign tongue, then you might appreciate a one-click translation service. Thankfully, I've got two to choose from.

You've no doubt already used Google Translate, but it takes several clicks to translate anything. Transmiti is a small app that lives in your System Tray and uses Google Translate to translate any selected text when you press the Windows key. Transmiti works quite well, automatically guessing the target language and displaying the resulting English text in a floating pop-up window.

First, the good news: Transmiti works in pretty much any window with text, from Word to Notepad to your browser. But it also has two serious shortcomings, though. First, the hotkey is the Windows key (what were they thinking?) and it can't be reassigned. Second, the translated text can't be copied and pasted -- it's trapped in the pop-up window.

This next option doesn't work anywhere in the same way as Transmiti, but it is a powerful option nonetheless. Specifically, if you use Internet Explorer 8 or the new Internet Explorer 9 beta, there's a one-click translator built right in, though you might be blissfully unaware of it. When you select some text, click the Accelerator icon that appears beside your selection, and choose Translate with Bing. Bing Translator will show your original text and translated text side-by-side, and you can copy and paste the text anywhere.

Photo courtesy of www.engrish.com