Canva Translate Design

Canva Translate

Translate all text elements in a Canva design to a target language, creating a new copy with translated content.

Workflow

1. Locate the Design

If user provides a design ID directly (typically starts with D, e.g. DABcd1234ef), use that as the design identifier; do not pass it to Canva:search-designs (search is for titles, not IDs).

If user provides a URL: Extract the design ID from the URL (format: https://www.canva.com/design/{design_id}/...).

If user provides a name: Use Canva:search-designs to find the design by title. If multiple matches, ask user to clarify.

2. Create a Translated Copy

Use Canva:resize-design with the same dimensions to create a copy. This preserves the original design untouched.

3. Start Editing Transaction

Use Canva:start-editing-transaction on the new copy to get:

• transaction_id for making edits
• All text elements with their element_id and current text content

4. Translate Text

For each text element returned:

1. Translate the text to the target language (use Claude's translation capability)
2. Preserve formatting cues (line breaks, emphasis patterns)
3. Keep proper nouns, brand names, and technical terms as appropriate

5. Apply Translations

Use Canva:perform-editing-operations with replace_text operations for all translated elements. Batch all replacements in a single call.

Also update the design title to indicate the language (e.g., append " (Spanish)" or use translated title).

6. Commit Changes

After showing the user the translated preview thumbnail:

1. Ask for explicit approval to save
2. Use Canva:commit-editing-transaction to finalize
3. Provide the link to the new translated design

Example Interaction

User: Translate my "Summer Sale Poster" to French

Steps:

1. Search: Canva:search-designs with query "Summer Sale Poster"
2. Copy: Canva:resize-design to create duplicate
3. Edit: Canva:start-editing-transaction on copy
4. Translate all text elements to French
5. Apply: Canva:perform-editing-operations with all replace_text operations
6. Show preview, get approval, commit

Important Notes

• Always create a copy—never modify the original design
• Batch all text replacements in one perform-editing-operations call for efficiency
• If translation significantly changes text length, warn user that layout adjustments may be needed in Canva
• For designs with many pages, translate all pages in the same transaction