What It Is
Chrome's standard PDF viewer doesn't let extensions translate text. WordByWord solves this with its own PDF viewer: enable PDF Translation and every PDF you open loads in a reader where word translation, saving to collections, and Spotlight highlighting all work exactly like on regular web pages.
Turning It On
Open the extension popup and switch on the PDF Translation toggle. From that moment, any PDF link you open in the browser is displayed in the WordByWord viewer automatically — no extra steps.
Turning the toggle off returns open PDFs to Chrome's standard viewer.
What You Can Do in the Viewer
- Select any text to open the translation popup and save words — the same flow as on websites.
- Spotlight highlighting works across the document: unknown words are marked in blue, words you are learning in shades of orange.
- Standard reading tools are available in the toolbar: page navigation, zoom, and search.
Opening Local Files
PDFs from the web work out of the box. For files on your computer (file:// links), Chrome requires explicit permission:
- Open
chrome://extensionsand find WordByWord. - Click Details.
- Enable Allow access to file URLs.
- Reload the tab with your PDF.
If permission is missing, the viewer shows this instruction with a button that takes you straight to the settings page.
Tips
- Textbooks, graded readers, and articles in PDF are ideal Spotlight material: enable highlighting and you'll see instantly whether the text matches your level.
- If a specific PDF renders poorly, turn the toggle off, read it in the standard viewer, and switch back afterwards — the setting takes effect immediately.