AFKLiveTranslate

AFKLiveTranslate is a Windows system tray application designed to translate text appearing anywhere on the screen. It targets video subtitles, game dialogue, application UI elements, or any other on-screen content. The user draws a rectangle over the area of interest, the software performs optical character recognition (OCR) on that region, and displays a translated overlay directly over the original text, keeping the background content visible. The program operates without requiring window focus, ensuring stability and suitability for dynamic content.

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• Drawn region translation. The user activates the function and draws a rectangular area over the screen. The software captures only that specific region, processes it with OCR, and projects the translated text onto an overlay that matches the position of the detected source text.
• Clean, non-intrusive overlay. Translations are displayed in a separate layer that integrates with the background content. The original text area remains visible, with the translated text positioned accurately over it.
• Automatic source language detection. The program analyzes the extracted text and determines its language automatically, eliminating the need for manual language preselection.
• On-device local translation engines. AFKLiveTranslate includes built-in translation modules that operate entirely offline. Language data packs are downloaded once per selected language pair.
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) for premium providers. Users can configure external translation services such as DeepL, Microsoft Azure Translator, Google Translate v2, and LibreTranslate by providing their own API credentials.
• Terminology glossary support. Users can define fixed translations for specific terms, names, or recurring phrases. The software applies these rules during translation to ensure consistency across games, series, or technical documentation.
• Translation result caching. Repeated text segments are stored locally. When identical source text appears again, the program retrieves the translation instantly without querying the translation engine, improving speed for repetitive captions.
• Subtitle track recognition when available. For supported content, the application can access local subtitle streams and use them directly as text input, bypassing the OCR step for higher accuracy.
• Window-independent screen targeting. The program operates on absolute screen coordinates rather than attaching to specific application windows. This allows translation of dropdown menus, tooltips, or full-screen video content without interruption.
• Minimal workflow and quick activation. The tool is controlled via keyboard shortcuts or system tray icon clicks. The workflow consists of: trigger shortcut, draw region, receive translation. No configuration windows open during the capture process.

Development of AFKLiveTranslate began in 2025. The application is written in the C# programming language and utilizes the .NET framework for execution on Windows operating systems. The development team focused on creating a tool that prioritizes stable text recognition over arbitrary screen regions and responsive overlay rendering. The initial public release centered on offline translation functionality, and subsequent updates have added support for external API providers and refinements to the OCR pipeline.

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