Press Command+J, open live-window translation, and select the subtitle line, chat panel, or other area you want to follow.
Move the translation window so it does not cover the source. You can keep watching while new text appears in the same area.
What live screen translation does
TranslateWindow reads the text in the screen region you select. When the visible words change, it recognizes and translates the new text.
Keeping the region small matters. A subtitle line, meeting caption area, chat panel, or software dialog is easier to recognize than an entire desktop full of unrelated text.
Where it is useful
| Screen content | What to pin | Why live mode helps |
|---|---|---|
| Video or course subtitles | The subtitle line | New captions arrive in the same place |
| Meeting or presentation | Visible captions or the shared-screen area | The speaker or slide keeps changing |
| Game or foreign software | Dialog, menu, or status panel | Text appears inside an interface you cannot select |
| Remote desktop | The remote app panel | macOS cannot access the remote text layer |
| Support chat or dashboard | The updating message or status region | New information appears without a page change |
Visible text and spoken audio are different
Live-window translation reads text already visible on screen. It does not listen to audio or create captions from speech. Turn on captions in your video or meeting app before selecting that area.
A small result window instead of a full-screen overlay
The translation appears in a separate window. Place it above, below, or beside the source so you can still see the original text and controls.
Use a scene for recurring terminology
Use a translation scene to save the terms and tone you want for a course, software demo, or customer meeting.
For example, add a recurring product name and its preferred translation so you do not have to correct it in every result.
Set up a stable live region
- Press Command+J to open the command panel and choose live-window translation.
- Drag over the smallest fixed area that contains the text you need.
- Move the result beside the source so it does not cover the next line or control.
- Choose the local model, cloud service, or scene that fits the content.
- If the text is static, stop live mode and use one screenshot instead.
Privacy depends on the active model
A live region may contain customer messages, internal dashboards, and account details. With a local model, recognized text can stay on the Mac. If you choose a cloud service or your own API key, the required text is sent to that provider under its terms.
Keep the region tight and check the active model before monitoring sensitive content. TranslateWindow does not use screenshots, OCR text, source text, or translations as analytics content.
When another mode is better
Use selection translation for a paragraph you can highlight. Use screenshot OCR for a static menu, image, or error dialog. Use an audio translation product when the information is spoken but no captions are visible.
Live OCR also cannot recover text that is too small, blurred, or hidden. Increase the source size, improve contrast, or capture a smaller region before changing translation models.
Questions before you try it
Does it translate speech? No. Live mode reads text that is already visible. If a video or meeting has captions, it can follow those captions.
Can it translate a whole app window? You choose a fixed screen region. A smaller region usually gives cleaner OCR and keeps unrelated text out of the result.
Can it work offline? With a downloaded local model, the translation step can run on the Mac. Cloud services send the required text to the provider you choose.
Try live translation on one part of your screen
Pin a subtitle line or foreign app panel. TranslateWindow keeps the result beside it and refreshes when the visible text changes.
Sources and verification
Product facts were checked against these first-party sources. Links open the current official documentation.