Frequently Asked Questions

The quickest way to create a viewfinder:

• Instant Creation: Press Control+Shift+A to create a viewfinder at your mouse position instantly
• Alternative: You can also use the menu bar icon or app menu to create a viewfinder

The viewfinder will appear as a translucent window that you can move and resize as needed.

You can close a viewfinder in several ways:

• Press ESC key
• Triple-click anywhere on the viewfinder
• Click the close button (×) in the corner

ViewLingo requires Screen Recording permission to capture the content within your viewfinder. This is a macOS requirement for any app that captures screen content.

ViewLingo supports translation between these languages:

• English (US)
• Korean (한국어)
• Japanese (日本語)
• Chinese Simplified (简体中文)
• Chinese Traditional (繁體中文)
• Spanish (Español)
• French (Français)
• German (Deutsch)
• Thai (ไทย)
• Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

ViewLingo uses Apple's built-in neural translation engine, which provides high-quality translations comparable to other major translation services. Accuracy depends on:

• Text clarity and font quality
• Language pair (some combinations work better than others)
• Context and text type (simple sentences vs. technical content)

For best results, ensure the text is clearly visible and well-lit on screen.

Yes! ViewLingo works completely offline. All translations happen on your device using Apple's built-in translation engine. No internet connection is required once the app is installed.

Live Mode automatically retranslates content as it changes on screen, perfect for:

• Video subtitles
• Live streams
• Dynamic web content
• Scrolling documents

Yes! ViewLingo natively handles vertical text commonly found in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean content. Vertical text is automatically detected and translations render in the correct writing direction.

ViewLingo uses adaptive font sizing to ensure translated text fits naturally within the original text area. It automatically adjusts font size, tries condensed fonts, and uses multi-line wrapping when needed to maintain readability.

Under normal usage, ViewLingo has minimal impact on system performance:

• Regular Mode: Very low resource usage, processes only when you request translation
• Live Mode: Higher resource usage due to continuous processing

The app is optimized for macOS 15.0+ and works efficiently on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Yes! ViewLingo can translate text from any application or website, including:

• Web browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)
• PDF readers
• Video players
• Games
• Documents and presentations
• Social media apps

The viewfinder captures whatever is visible on your screen, regardless of the source application.

ViewLingo is a one-time purchase that includes:

• All features with no restrictions
• All language packs included
• Lifetime updates
• No subscriptions or recurring fees
• Premium privacy with on-device processing

This is less than one month of most translation subscription services, but you own it forever.

Yes! ViewLingo supports Apple's Family Sharing, so you can share your purchase with up to 6 family members at no additional cost. You can also install it on all your personal Macs.

ViewLingo follows Apple's standard refund policy. You can request a refund within 14 days of purchase through Apple if the app doesn't meet your needs. Contact Apple Support to process refunds.

Absolutely! ViewLingo is designed with privacy as a core principle:

• All translations happen on your device
• No data is sent to external servers
• We don't collect, store, or transmit your content
• No analytics or tracking
• Works completely offline

The screen recording permission allows ViewLingo to capture content within your viewfinder. This is:

• Required by macOS for any screen capture functionality
• Limited to the specific area you select
• Processed immediately and never stored
• Cannot be accessed remotely or transmitted

ViewLingo uses this permission responsibly and only for translation purposes.

Try these solutions:

• Check text clarity: Ensure the text is clearly visible and not blurry
• Adjust viewfinder size: Make sure the entire text is within the viewfinder
• Improve lighting: OCR works better with good contrast
• Check language settings: Ensure the source language is supported
• Try different fonts: Some decorative fonts may be harder to recognize

This is a known macOS behavior. When an app is updated, macOS may invalidate its screen recording permission internally, even though System Settings still shows it as "enabled." To fix this:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
2. Find ViewLingo in the list
3. Remove it using the − (minus) button
4. Add it back using the + (plus) button
5. Restart ViewLingo

1. Restart ViewLingo: Quit and relaunch the app
2. Check macOS version: Ensure you're running macOS 15.0 or later
3. Disable Live Mode: If enabled, turn off Live Mode in settings
4. Restart your Mac: Sometimes a system restart helps
5. Reinstall: Delete and reinstall from the App Store

If problems persist, please report the issue on our GitHub Issues page.

We welcome your feedback! You can:

• Report bugs: GitHub Issues
• Request features: GitHub Discussions
• Leave App Store reviews: Help other users discover ViewLingo

Please include your macOS version and detailed steps to reproduce any issues.