Messages, screenshots and PDFs: preparing digital material for translation

Send a legible copy of the material in an identified order, specify what needs translating and retain the available source files. The assignment described here is translation of the content. Any examination of authenticity or evidential significance must be agreed separately.

Tell us whether the material consists of a messaging-app conversation, emails, screenshots or a PDF report. Give the target language and intended use. For a large collection, specify whether you need the whole set, a date range, selected pages or particular messages.

If a legal representative or institution has identified the required material, provide those references. Do not guess which passages a proceeding requires. Label supporting material separately if it explains the context but is outside the translation scope.

Screenshots should show the messages to be translated and the available information needed to order them, such as dates, times and participant labels. Do not combine parts of different conversations into a single image. If screenshots overlap, say so to avoid counting repeated passages twice.

Number files in conversation order. Where an application hides some text, show the full content if it can be done safely. Do not open a suspicious link or attachment just to prepare a translation; explain that it has not been opened.

Mention any chat export or PDF report you hold. Do not replace a readable file with blurred photographs of a screen. For email, the sender, recipient, date and related attachments may also be relevant; we will agree the scope with you.

Keep original files separate from working copies. Do not overwrite them with annotations or automatic translations. Where fraud is suspected, Poland’s Ministry of Finance recommends retaining messages, screenshots and transfer confirmations. Arranging a translation does not replace reporting the matter to the appropriate authorities.

A PDF report may use several references: the page shown in the reader, the printed page number and a message or attachment identifier. State which numbering you use and give a range that can be located unambiguously.

For a recording, give the file name and time range. Say whether a transcript already exists or whether transcribing the speech is also part of the assignment. Transcription and translation must be identified separately when agreeing the scope.

Example: “conversation_01.pdf, pages 12–18 in the PDF reader, printed as pages 10–16 in the report. Translate the Ukrainian messages; quote separately for attachments A and B. Two screenshots repeat the final part of the conversation.”

After reviewing the files, we establish what can be read, the translation scope and the available delivery format. Unreadable passages, missing messages or unexplained attachments need clarification before work begins.

An initial enquiry should contain only the material needed to define the assignment. For large or particularly sensitive collections, contact the office first to agree how to provide them. Passwords, login codes and access to accounts are not needed to quote for the supplied documents.

• Identify the type of material, target language and translation scope.
• Order the files and mark repeated passages.
• Make pages, messages and attachments easy to identify.
• Retain the available source files and state the purpose and deadline.

Ukrainian into Polish or Polish into Ukrainian. Send a legible scan, photograph or PDF and tell us where the translation will be used and when you need it. We confirm the scope, price, delivery date and collection arrangements after reviewing the material.

The office is at ul. Kielecka 2/53, 31-526 Kraków. Visits are by appointment. Documents can be sent electronically for an initial quotation from anywhere in Poland.