Frequently asked questions

Getting started

What is Glotsmith?

Glotsmith is a language-learning workbook built around real content. You import your own PDFs, video, and audio, translate side by side, capture vocabulary, and organize everything into your own courses and workbooks — so you study from material you actually care about.

Who is Glotsmith for?

Intermediate and advanced learners who want to study from authentic material — textbooks, articles, scanned documents, videos, and podcasts — rather than generic app lessons. It's also built for tutors and teachers to prepare and share materials with their students.

How is Glotsmith different from apps like Duolingo or LingQ?

Apps like Duolingo teach you from their own lessons, and reading platforms like LingQ give you their library and reader. Glotsmith is a workbench for your own content: you bring the PDFs, videos, audio, and notes you care about and build your own course around them, with translation, read-aloud, transcripts, and vocabulary attached directly to your material.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Glotsmith runs entirely in your web browser on desktop, tablet, and phone — there's nothing to download or install, and your workbooks stay in sync across devices.

Can I use Glotsmith offline?

Not yet — Glotsmith needs an internet connection to translate, recognize text, and generate transcripts, and to save and sync your work across your devices.

Is Glotsmith free?

Yes — you can start for free, no credit card required. The Free plan lets you read your own born-digital PDFs, translate, build vocabulary, take notes, and more, with monthly limits on the metered features. Paid plans raise those limits — see the Pricing page.

How do I sign in?

With a one-time code sent to your email, or with your Google account. There's no password to remember.

Reading your own content

Can I read my own PDFs?

Yes. Reading born-digital PDFs — where the text is already embedded — is free and unlimited on every plan, including Free. Glotsmith reads the text directly, with no page scanning needed, so you can translate, listen, and save vocabulary right on the page.

What about scanned documents or images?

Glotsmith recognizes the text in scanned pages and photos so you can study from photographed or scanned material. Text recognition draws on your monthly page allowance, and it counts only true scans and images — born-digital PDF text is always free.

How do I highlight a word to translate or save it?

Select any word or phrase on a page — or in a transcript or your notes — and a small toolbar lets you translate it, hear it read aloud, or add it to your course vocabulary with its meaning, all without leaving the page.

Can I annotate or draw on my documents?

Yes. Each document has a pen, a highlighter, and check and cross stamps, with adjustable size and color. Your annotations are saved with the workbook, so your marked-up pages are there next time you open it.

Can I zoom in and read comfortably?

Yes. Documents scroll continuously, and you can zoom in and out (with the buttons, Ctrl/⌘-scroll, or pinch on touch), switch between single-page and two-page spreads, and jump to any page. Glotsmith remembers your zoom level and last page for each document.

Can I use video and audio?

Yes. Add your own audio or video file, or paste a YouTube link. Either way you can take timestamped notes as you listen or watch, and click a note's timestamp to jump straight back to that moment. An on-demand transcript is available for uploaded audio and video files only — a YouTube link plays as an embed, which we can't transcribe.

Which languages does Glotsmith support?

Eight today — English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean — in any source-to-target combination among them, for translation, vocabulary, and read-aloud.

Studying

How does translation work?

Each translation section is a side-by-side, row-based editor: keep the original on one side and its translation on the other. Translate a line on demand with one click, or turn on automatic translation, and see at a glance when a line has drifted out of sync with its source.

What happens to a translation when I edit the text?

Glotsmith remembers the text it last translated, so if you change either side, that line is flagged as out of sync and you can re-translate it with one click. Lines that are already in sync are left alone, so you never pay for a re-translation you don't need.

Can I have words or sentences read aloud?

Yes. A speaker button reads a word, a translation row, or a table cell aloud in the right language, so you can check pronunciation as you study. Read-aloud uses your monthly word allowance.

Can I build a vocabulary list?

Yes. Select any word while reading or in a translation and add it to your course vocabulary with its meaning. Entries are shared across the whole course, so you build one growing glossary as you go.

How do I take notes on a video or audio clip?

In an audio or video section — an uploaded file or an embedded YouTube video — add a note at the current moment and it's stamped with that timestamp, so your notes line up with the exact points in the clip you want to come back to. Click a timestamp to jump the player back there.

Can I get a transcript to study from?

Yes. For an uploaded audio or video clip (up to a few minutes long), generate a time-aligned transcript on demand in the language you choose, then study it like any other text — highlight words to translate, listen, or save them. You can re-transcribe in a different language if you need to.

How is my study organized?

Content lives in workbooks, grouped into courses — one course per language pair. Within a workbook you mix section types: documents, translations, vocabulary, notes, tables, video, and audio.

Can I share my work?

Yes. Share any workbook with a private link that renders it read-only for anyone who opens it, and they can copy it into their own account to build on. Shared workbooks aren't indexed by search engines unless you explicitly publish them, and you can turn copying or the whole link off whenever you like.

Plans & billing

What is the difference between the free and paid plans?

Free covers everyday study with monthly limits. The paid Scholar and Master plans raise the translation, read-aloud, transcription, and text-recognition allowances and storage, and remove the course and workbook caps. See the Pricing page for the current numbers.

How much does Glotsmith cost?

There is a free plan, plus two paid plans — Scholar and Master — billed monthly or (cheaper) annually. See the Pricing page for current prices.

How is billing handled?

Payments are processed securely by Paddle, our payment provider and merchant of record, which also handles applicable sales tax and VAT. Card details are entered on Paddle's secure form and are never stored by Glotsmith.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. You can cancel from the billing page at any time. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you have paid for, then your account returns to the Free plan.

What happens to my content if I downgrade?

Your courses, workbooks, and uploads stay in your account. If you are over the Free storage limit you will not be able to add new uploads until you are back under it, but nothing is deleted automatically.

Privacy & your account

Is my content private?

Yes. Your uploads and workbooks are private to your account, and we process them only to deliver the features you ask for, such as translation, transcription, and text recognition. A shared workbook is viewable only by someone with its link, and it is kept out of search engines unless you choose to publish it. We don't sell your data or use it to build advertising profiles. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Can I export or delete my data?

Yes. You can export all of your data as a single download, and delete your account — which removes your content — at any time from your profile settings.

How do I contact support?

Email us at contact@glotsmith.com and we will help.