Translate an Excel file into Dutch

What Dutch does to a workbook

Dutch writes compound nouns as a single word, much like German. A header such as "shipping costs" becomes verzendkosten, "sales forecast" becomes omzetprognose, and "customer satisfaction survey" becomes klanttevredenheidsonderzoek. Excel only wraps text at spaces, so a word like that will not fold onto a second line: it overflows or gets cut off.

• Capitals: months and weekdays are lower case (januari, maandag), and column headers use sentence case rather than capitalising every word.
• The IJ digraph: at the start of a word both letters are capitalised together (IJsselmeer, IJzerwaren), which can affect where entries land in an alphabetical sort.
• Plurals: only two forms (one and other), but the endings vary: 1 artikel, 3 artikelen; 1 order, 2 orders.
• Netherlands or Flanders: vocabulary differs in places (gsm in Belgium, mobiel in the Netherlands), and the formal u is more common in Flemish business writing, whereas Dutch companies often use je. Check the tone on the free sample.

What you get back, and what is left alone

Manuce translates the text cells on every sheet and puts the Dutch text back in place in your original .xlsx. Column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells are kept. Calculated cells keep their formula and go on calculating; numbers, dates and amounts are left as they are. You also receive a Word version, a PDF and the plain text, handy for proofreading outside the spreadsheet.

Not translated:

• sheet tab names (a tab called "Sales" stays "Sales", not Verkoop);
• cell comments;
• charts, and shapes or text boxes placed on the sheet;
• any text written inside a formula, since formulas are not modified.

Narrow columns are not widened, which matters more with Dutch compounds than with most languages. Manuce does not provide sworn or certified translations.

The trap: formulas that compare text

Because formulas are untouched, a string typed directly into a formula does not follow the translation of the cells it tests. Take =IF(C2="Paid",0,D2). After translation, C2 reads Betaald, but the formula still looks for "Paid": the test fails and the balance no longer drops to zero.

The same applies to a VLOOKUP keyed on a word, a COUNTIF on "Open", or a join such as =A2&" items", which will leave an English word in the middle of a Dutch sheet. Before uploading, point those formulas at a cell holding the label instead of typing it into the formula: the cell gets translated and the comparison stays consistent.

Function names, on the other hand, need nothing: Excel displays them in the user's own language, so a Dutch reader will see SOM or ALS on their machine.

Preparing the file and checking the result

• Find numbers stored as text: a cell where "1,234.50" was typed as text is not a number to Excel. Real numeric values and dates display according to the reader's regional settings (decimal comma and thousands point in both the Netherlands and Belgium); text stays exactly as written.
• Turn on wrap text for headers, or plan to widen columns after delivery: leveringsvoorwaarden will not fit in the width used for "Terms".
• Rename the tabs yourself if the workbook is going to a Dutch-speaking client, and translate comments and chart titles separately.
• Test drop-down lists: whether their values come from a cell range or are typed into the validation rule, check that a chosen value still matches the translated data.
• For a term that must stay unchanged (product name, item code, brand), check it on the free sample and then in the delivered translation.

In practice

1. Replace labels typed inside formulas with references to cells.
2. Upload the .xlsx: the quote appears straight away, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free sample to judge the Dutch vocabulary and tone.
4. After delivery, widen columns that are too narrow and rename the tabs.
5. Test filters, drop-down lists and any formula that compares text.