Getting started with Tolka Live

Everything you need to go from zero to live translation – most people are running in under fifteen minutes.

1. Create an account & get your license key

1. Go to the portal and choose Create account.
2. New accounts automatically get a free 5-minute trial – no credit card needed. One trial per computer.
3. Your account page shows your license key (looks like TL-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). Copy it – you'll paste it into the app in step 3.
4. When you're ready to continue after the trial, pick a plan on the same page. Every plan has every feature – only the hours differ.

2. Install the app

Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel)

1. Download the right version (unsure? menu → About This Mac).
2. Double-click the zip to unpack Tolka Live.app, then drag it into Applications.
3. First launch: right-click the app → Open → Open again in the dialog. This is only needed once, because the app was downloaded from the web.
4. If macOS still blocks it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → scroll down → Open Anyway.
5. Grant microphone access when asked – without it the app hears nothing.

Windows 10 / 11

1. Download the Windows version and unpack the zip (right-click → Extract All).
2. Open the folder and double-click Tolka Live.exe.
3. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC": click More info → Run anyway. This only appears the first time.

3. First start

1. The app opens ⚙ Settings automatically on first run.
2. Sign in with your account (email + password) and click Sign in — the license key fills in automatically. (Or paste the license key manually.)
3. Pick Translate from (or leave Auto-detect) and Translate to – the language the captions should appear in.
4. Pick your microphone/input (see next section).
5. Press Start Translation. Speak – text should appear in the window within a second or two.

Good to know: F1 settings · F2 transparent overlay · F11 fullscreen · ESC quit. The ✕ Clear button instantly blanks the captions everywhere (window, projector, stream).

4. Audio & microphone

• Best results come from a feed off your mixer/audio interface (e.g. Focusrite Scarlett) – the app auto-selects Scarlett/Focusrite if found.
• The computer's built-in microphone works for testing but picks up room noise.
• Send a mono mix of the speech microphone (no music) to the app's input – music and crowd noise degrade the translation.

5. ProPresenter – captions on projector & stage display

1. In ProPresenter: Preferences → Network → enable Network and note the port number.
2. Create a Message (💬 Messages panel) named exactly Translation. Add one text token (e.g. "text") and make the message body only that token. Style it however you want the captions to look.
3. For the stage display: Screens → Edit Stage Layouts… → add the Message element to your layout.
4. In Tolka Live: ⚙ Settings → check Send captions to ProPresenter. Host: localhost if ProPresenter runs on the same computer, otherwise the other computer's IP. Port: the number from step 1.
5. Choose Send to: audience + stage, stage only, or audience only. Adjust Max chars/caption to fit your rows.

6. OBS – captions in your livestream

1. In Tolka Live: ⚙ Settings → check Serve captions for OBS Browser Source (port 8899 is a fine default).
2. In OBS: Sources → + → Browser. URL: http://localhost:8899/ (OBS on another computer: replace localhost with the Tolka Live computer's IP). Width/height: match your canvas, e.g. 1920×1080.
3. Done – captions appear lower-center with a soft fade and transparent background.

7. AI voice (spoken translation)

1. ⚙ Settings → Audio → check Speak the translation.
2. Pick a Voice output: headphones, a separate PA zone, or a virtual audio device (e.g. BlackHole/VB-Cable) to route the voice into OBS or an interpretation system.

8. Profanity filter & AI instructions

• The profanity filter is on by default and masks inappropriate words as ✱✱✱✱ in all captions. Lists are per language and never censor religious words (heaven, hell, Satan …) or false friends (Swedish slutet).
• Add your own blocked words in ~/.live-translator-blocklist.txt – one word per line.
• Instructions to the AI in Settings controls tone and context. The default text suits church services; rewrite it freely for conferences or other events. The AI is always instructed never to use crude language.

9. Important: the AI can make mistakes

Tips for best quality: clear speech into a good microphone, one speaker at a time, and a clean speech signal without music.

10. Troubleshooting

• No text appears – Is the status green? Right microphone selected? Did you grant mic access? Speak close to the mic and check signal.
• "Invalid license key" – copy the key again from the portal (all of it, including TL-).
• "Monthly hours used up" – upgrade your plan or wait for the new month; see usage in the portal.
• Yellow ProPresenter status – wrong host/port, or Network not enabled in ProPresenter.
• Stage shows text but audience doesn't – the Message isn't named exactly Translation, or has no token.
• Audience shows text but stage doesn't – the Message element is missing from your stage layout.
• A short break every ~10 minutes – normal: the cloud session rotates and the app reconnects automatically (brief yellow status).
• Anything else? Email [email protected] – include what the status bar says.