Send the DWG files
with their external references, and the specification if it is part of the package.
Send the DWG filesYour AutoCAD drawings, translated in place.
Send the DWG files; get them back with the translation written in place and every callout in the same terms as the spec.
01
The retyping problem
Most translations of drawings come back as a table: the drawing text in one column, the French in the other. Someone on your team then opens every sheet and retypes each callout, note and schedule entry, then fixes the text that no longer fits. It costs your drafters days of the least billable work on the project, and every retyped line is a chance for a typo or a term that disagrees with the specification. So many firms stop sending drawings out and have a bilingual drafter translate them in-house, between other work.
Nobody should have to retype a translation they already paid for.
02
The drawing comes back translated
We translate the actual AutoCAD files, not a table of their text. The translation is written into the DWG and the text blocks are adjusted to the longer French; a dense sheet may still need some manual layout. Your drafters check the set; they do not rebuild it. It works whichever way you choose: our specialists, or an AI draft your team reviews in NEOLO. If a bilingual drafter translates your drawings today, the AI draft gives them the DWG back with the translation in place, to check instead of retype.
03
The same terms as the specification
Callouts are where terms drift. The specification says one thing, sheet A-101 says another, and the contractor asks which one you meant. Your drawings and your NMS specification are translated from one term base, so a callout matches its section word for word. The term base is your firm’s, so the next project, and the next office, starts with the same approved callouts.
04
Proof
For Worley’s Iqaluit and Pond Inlet harbour studies, we translated 45 AutoCAD drawings and 420 pages of studies into French in 14 days, and the French went out with the Government of Nunavut’s tender on schedule. Read the case study. Six of the world’s ten largest engineering firms are Technitrad clients.
05
How it works
We translate the drawings and the spec from one term base,
with the drawing text written into the DWG.
We translate the drawings and the spec from one term base,You get DWG files back,
with every callout in the spec’s terms.
You get DWG files back,AutoCAD DWG drawings with editable text. Scanned or PDF-only sets are welcome too, and quoted separately; they do not come back with the text written into a DWG.
06
Send the set
Send the DWG files for a quote, answered within one business day, and your drafters spend their time checking a translated set instead of rebuilding it. For a first look at how consistent your current drawings and specs are, start with the free, confidential terminology check: it accepts drawings too.
Sheet A-101: the terms on this drawing
Approved once. Used on every sheet, spec and report after.
- 08 44 13Curtain wallMur-rideau
- 03 30 00Concrete slabDalle de béton
- A-101Line of slab aboveRive de la dalle au-dessus
- A-101Typical columnPoteau type
- A-101Canopy aboveAuvent au-dessus
- A-101Main entranceEntrée principale
FAQ
Questions
How do I change the language in AutoCAD?
Install a language pack from your Autodesk account and start AutoCAD in that language. It changes the menus and commands only: the text in your drawings stays exactly as it was drawn. Translating the drawing itself means replacing every note, callout, title block entry and schedule, which is the work we do.
What is drawing called in French?
In Quebec construction, a drawing is a dessin, or a plan when it is a plan view, and the drawings and specifications together are the plans et devis. A shop drawing is a dessin d'atelier.
What file format does AutoCAD use?
DWG, AutoCAD's native format. Send us the DWG files with their references and we return DWG files. PDF exports and scans carry no editable text, so they are quoted separately.
Do you translate drawings from French to English?
Yes. Drawings produced in Quebec often need English for an owner, a partner or a reviewer outside the province, and the same term base works in both directions.
Start
DirectRequest a quoteYour engineers review the translation in minutes, not hours.
Send your package: specs, drawings or reports. We reply with a price and a date.
FreeFree terminology checkUpload a recent translated deliverable. We return a short report of every inconsistent term.