Translate an Excel file into Indonesian

What changes when a spreadsheet goes into Indonesian

Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet with no diacritics, so there are no fonts to swap and no display issues in cells. The real challenges of an Indonesian spreadsheet lie elsewhere.

• Labels tend to grow. Indonesian builds words with affixes (me-, -kan, pe-…-an) and often prefers a descriptive phrase to a short noun: “Due date” becomes Tanggal jatuh tempo, “Discount” becomes Potongan harga. A header sized tightly for English or another compact language overflows quickly.
• No grammatical plural. Indonesian has a single form (one CLDR category: other): “1 item” and “3 items” are 1 barang and 3 barang. Reduplication (barang-barang) signals an unspecified plurality and is never used after a number. Headers such as “Product(s)” simply become Produk.
• A formal register. Business documents address the reader as Anda and follow standard spelling (EYD). Indonesian tables commonly use short forms such as No., Tgl. (tanggal, date), Jml. (jumlah, quantity) and Ket. (keterangan, notes).
• Different number conventions. Indonesia uses a decimal comma and a full stop for thousands: 1.250.000,50. The rupiah is written Rp before the amount, usually without decimals.

Formulas, figures and amounts: what stays untouched

Manuce does not touch formulas: a calculated cell keeps its formula and keeps calculating. Numbers, dates and amounts stay exactly as they are. That is what you want in a financial or operational sheet, but there are three consequences to know before sending the file to an Indonesian reader:

• Text written inside a formula is not translated. ="Total: "&B12 will still display “Total:” in the source language.
• A formula that compares a cell with a word may stop working. If column D says “Paid”, translated as Lunas, then =IF(D2="Paid",1,0) will return 0 on every row. The same applies to a VLOOKUP or COUNTIF whose criterion is a label typed into the formula.
• Amounts are not converted. A cell formatted in pounds, dollars or euros stays in that currency; nothing is recalculated into rupiah. Each cell's number format is preserved.

A genuine number displays according to the regional settings of the computer opening the file, so on a machine set to Indonesian it will normally appear with a decimal comma. A number typed as text, on the other hand, stays exactly as entered.

What Manuce returns, and what it leaves alone

You get your original .xlsx back with the Indonesian text in place: column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells are all preserved. You also receive a Word version, a PDF and the plain text, handy for review by an Indonesian colleague who does not need the spreadsheet itself.

Not translated:

• Sheet tab names. A tab called “Sales” or “Inventory” keeps its name; rename it yourself, for example Penjualan or Persediaan.
• Cell comments, which remain in the source language.
• Charts (titles, legends) and shapes or text boxes placed on the sheet.

Narrow columns are not widened. Since Tanggal jatuh tempo takes more room than “Due date”, a header may be cut off on screen, just as an over-long label would be in the original.

Manuce does not produce sworn or certified translations. If your workbook (financial statements, records) must be filed with an Indonesian authority that requires a penerjemah tersumpah (sworn translator), you will need one for that version.

Preparing the workbook and checking the Indonesian version

Before uploading:

• Move reader-facing text out of formulas: put “Total” in its own cell rather than inside ="Total: "&B12.
• Identify formulas that test a label (IF, COUNTIF, VLOOKUP). Where possible, replace the hard-coded word with a reference to a cell, or note them to fix after translation.
• Widen tight header columns or turn on text wrapping.
• List the tabs, charts and text boxes you will handle by hand.

Before paying: look at the free sample, one paragraph of your file translated at the level you chose. Use it to confirm that product names, codes and acronyms stay as they are, and that the formal tone suits your readers.

On delivery: recalculate the workbook and check conditional totals, look for truncated headers, rename the tabs, translate chart titles and make sure amounts show the currency you intend.

In practice

1. Prepare the workbook: text out of formulas, header columns widened.
2. Upload the .xlsx and choose Indonesian: the quote appears straight away.
3. Check the free sample, especially product names and register.
4. Download the translated .xlsx plus its Word, PDF and plain-text versions.
5. Check text-based formulas, then rename tabs and chart titles.