Translate an Excel file into Italian

What Italian changes in a spreadsheet

Italian uses the Latin alphabet, left to right, so there is no font or direction issue. The traps are subtler. Accented vowels are common at the end of words (quantità, perché, è) and must keep their accent in capitals: an upper-case header reads QUANTITÀ, not QUANTITA', a makeshift spelling still found in older files.

Month and day names take a lower-case initial: a schedule whose headers were typed as text, such as « January » or « Monday », will show gennaio or lunedì. That is correct Italian, not an error.

Italian generally runs longer than English, so narrow columns feel it first. Italian business usage abbreviates freely in headers: Q.tà for quantity, pz. for pieces, n. for number, IVA for VAT and P. IVA for a VAT number. A source already abbreviated (« Qty », « VAT no. ») is more likely to produce a short header.

Numbers, dates and formulas: what stays, what bites

Calculated cells keep their formula and keep calculating; numbers, dates and amounts are not changed. How they look depends on the regional settings of the computer opening the file: on a machine set to Italian, a cell formatted with a thousands separator shows 1.234,50 rather than 1,234.50, and a short date usually reads 31/12/2025. Excel also displays function names in its interface language (SOMMA instead of SUM) and semicolons between arguments, without the file itself changing.

The real trap is text inside formulas. Because formulas are left alone, =IF(B2>0,"Paid","Unpaid") will still show « Paid » in an otherwise Italian table. Worse, a formula that compares text, such as =COUNTIF(C:C,"Delivered"), will return zero once column C has become Consegnato.

Values typed as text (« 1.5 kg », « 3 days ») are treated as text: review them, as Italian writes 1,5 kg and abbreviates days as gg.

Plurals, agreement and register

Italian has three plural categories (one, many, other); many mostly covers large round numbers written in words (1 milione di articoli). In spreadsheets the issue is fixed labels: a cell reading « item(s) » is usually rendered articolo/i or simply articoli. A string built by a formula, like =A2&" item(s)", stays in the source language.

Adjectives agree in gender: a status « Approved » becomes approvato for an ordine but approvata for a fattura. Keep a clear header (« Invoice status ») on the same sheet so that context is there.

For instructions in a template, professional Italian uses the polite Lei form (Inserisca il codice cliente) or, very often in forms, the infinitive (Inserire il codice cliente). Check that the workbook sticks to one of the two.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

• Text cells on every sheet are translated into Italian.
• Your original .xlsx comes back with column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells preserved.
• You also receive a Word version, a PDF and the plain text, handy for review by an Italian-speaking colleague.

Not translated: sheet tab names (« Sales » stays « Sales », not Vendite), cell comments, charts, and shapes or text boxes placed on the sheet. Narrow columns are not widened, so a longer Italian label may be cut off on screen, just as it would have been in the original.

Manuce does not produce sworn translations: if a table must accompany an official file in Italy that requires a traduzione giurata, you will need a certified translator. For internal use the Essentiel level is enough; for a file going to an Italian partner, Professionnel is designed to be sent as is.

Preparing the workbook and checking the result

1. Search formulas for straight quotes ": every piece of text you find will stay untranslated. Replace text comparisons with codes (1/0) or point them to a label cell, which will be translated.
2. If a comment must be read in Italian, copy its content into a column.
3. Turn on text wrapping or widen tight header columns before uploading.
4. After delivery, rename the tabs yourself (Riepilogo, Clienti) and retitle the charts.
5. Re-sort lists: countries sorted A to Z are no longer in order once « Germany » has become Germania.

In practice

1. Find text in quotes inside formulas and replace any text comparisons.
2. Upload the .xlsx file: the quote appears straight away, based on the exact word count.
3. Request the free one-paragraph extract in Italian to judge the chosen level, then pay.
4. Open the delivered .xlsx: rename tabs, retitle charts, check truncated columns and re-sort lists.