#Features
CatScribe Translate combines document translation, chunk-level review, glossary control, and export into one desktop workflow. This section explains each product feature in depth. If you are new, start with the conceptual pages, then open the feature pages when you need a specific control.
#Learn The Basics
- How Translation Works — the real pipeline: import, chunk, translate, review, export, and the stability features (retries, resume, idempotent uploads) behind it.
- App Screens & Navigation — a screen-by-screen tour of the sidebar, the Settings page, and the top bar.
- Performance Guidelines — the hard file-size limits, chunk-size guidance, and hardware expectations.
#Translate
- Auto Mode — a per-job preset: pick Fast, Balanced, or Maximum quality and let CatScribe choose engine, chunk size, and AI layers.
- Simple vs Advanced Mode — the global interface toggle that decides whether you see one Offline Translation option or every engine individually.
- Translation Engines — the full provider list (Argos, LibreTranslate, MarianMT, NLLB, Google, Ollama, LM Studio, Claude), which are offline, and how model downloads work.
- Offline Translation — what runs fully offline, what needs internet once, and how privacy is handled.
#Review And Improve
- CAT Editor — review chunks side by side, edit, approve, inspect QA flags and quality scores.
- Glossaries — glossary groups, CSV import/export, and how terms are enforced during translation.
- Improve With AI — the per-chunk AI refinement action and the job-level refinement layers.
- Chunk Overrides — re-translate a single chunk with a different engine, or force exact wording by hand.
#Three Different "Modes" — Do Not Confuse Them
CatScribe has three separate concepts whose names sound similar:
| Concept | Where | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Simple / Advanced | Top bar button, global | How much engine detail the interface shows. Simple groups local engines into one "Offline Translation" option. |
| Auto Mode | Toggle inside File Translation and Subtitle Translation, per job | Whether CatScribe picks provider, chunk size, and AI layers for one job, based on a quality preset. |
| PDF "Auto (recommended)" | "PDF Translation Mode" selector, per PDF job | Which PDF processing sub-mode is used (simple text, high fidelity, OCR, or via DOCX). |
They combine freely: you can run Auto Mode in either interface mode, and a PDF job in Auto Mode still resolves its own PDF sub-mode.
#Where Features Live — Quick Map
| I want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Translate a short text snippet | Quick Translate in the sidebar |
| Translate a PDF, DOCX, or EPUB | File Translation — see First Translation |
| Translate SRT/VTT subtitles | Subtitle Translation — see Translating Subtitles |
| See past jobs, pause/resume, retry failed chunks | Translations (job history) |
| Review and edit a translation | Open the CAT Editor from Translations or Home — see CAT Editor |
| Manage terminology | Glossaries — see Glossaries |
| Download or remove local AI models | Providers in the sidebar (the screen is titled AI Models) |
| Change the engine behind "Offline Translation" | Settings → Providers → Preferred Offline Provider |
| Connect LibreTranslate, LM Studio, or Claude | Settings → Integrations |
#Beta Status
CatScribe Translate currently identifies itself as "Beta (v1) · in development" in the sidebar. During the beta, features marked "Pro" in the interface (for example selecting multiple glossary groups, or video export with subtitles) display "Unlocked free during Beta" and are available to everyone. Cloud features appear as a "Coming soon" teaser and are not yet active.
#Suggested Reading Order
- How Translation Works — understand the pipeline once.
- App Screens & Navigation — learn where everything lives.
- Auto Mode — run your first jobs with presets.
- CAT Editor and Glossaries — build a review habit.
- Translation Engines and Performance Guidelines — tune for your hardware and content.
For end-to-end playbooks (books, consistency passes, subtitles, format-specific advice), continue to the Workflows section.