Translate an Excel File into Spanish

How Spanish changes a spreadsheet

Spanish runs longer than English, roughly the length of French. In a spreadsheet the column header takes the hit: Qty becomes Cantidad, Due date becomes Fecha de vencimiento. A workbook built in English with tight columns will feel this more than one written in French or Italian.

Points worth knowing when you proofread:

• Inverted question marks: a column headed Paid? becomes ¿Pagado?, with the opening mark.
• No capitals for months and days: enero, lunes. A header typed as January becomes enero unless it starts the label.
• Sentence case in headings: Fecha de entrega, not Fecha De Entrega.
• Standard abbreviations to save width: N.º (number), Cant. (quantity), Uds. (units), Imp. (amount).

Formulas, numbers and dates stay as they are

Manuce does not touch formulas. A cell containing =SUM(B2:B40) keeps its formula and keeps calculating. Function names need no translation: the .xlsx file stores them internally, and a Spanish-language Excel displays them automatically as =SUMA(B2:B40), SI or BUSCARV.

The less obvious consequence: text written inside a formula is part of the formula and is not translated. In =IF(C2>0,"Paid","Unpaid") or =B2&" items", the quoted words stay in the source language. The second case also raises a plural issue: Spanish distinguishes 1 artículo from 2 artículos, and uses a separate form for large round numbers (1 millón de artículos). A fixed concatenation cannot handle that.

Numbers, dates and amounts are left unchanged. Whether a decimal shows as a comma (Spain) or a point (Mexico) depends on the regional settings of the reader’s computer, not on the translation.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

You receive:

• your original .xlsx, with Spanish text in place and column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells preserved;
• a Word version, a PDF and the plain text, handy for a Spanish-speaking reviewer without Excel to hand.

Not translated:

• sheet tab names: a tab called Sales stays Sales;
• cell comments;
• charts (titles, axes, legends);
• shapes and text boxes placed on the sheet.

Narrow columns are not widened, so Fecha de vencimiento may appear cut off, just as overlong text would in the original. Manuce also does not produce a traducción jurada: if a Spanish authority requires a sworn translation of your accounts, you will need a sworn translator.

Spain or Latin America: vocabulary to check

The same table reads slightly differently in Madrid and Mexico City. Common differences in business spreadsheets:

• ordenador (Spain) / computadora (Latin America) in an equipment inventory;
• importe / monto for an amount;
• country-specific tax IDs: NIF in Spain, RFC in Mexico, RUT in Chile. A VAT number column does not translate one-to-one.

The free sample, one paragraph of your file translated at the chosen level before you pay, shows the vocabulary used. For a workbook going to a client or partner, the Professional level, handled by the domain specialist, is the right fit; Essential is enough to understand a spreadsheet you have received.

Preparing the workbook

• Move text out of formulas: put Paid and Unpaid in two cells and reference them (=IF(C2>0,$H$1,$H$2)). Those cells get translated and the formula still works.
• Give columns room: widen the ones whose headers are already tight, or turn on text wrapping.
• List what you will do by hand: tabs, comments, chart titles, text boxes.
• Check dates typed as text: an entry like 3 March typed as text is not a real date and deserves a look.

After delivery, rename the tabs in Excel (Sales → Ventas): Excel updates any formulas that refer to them.

In practice

1. Move labels written inside formulas into ordinary cells.
2. Upload the .xlsx: the quote appears instantly, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free Spanish sample, then choose your level.
4. Download the translated .xlsx with its Word, PDF and plain-text versions.
5. Rename tabs, translate comments and charts, widen any truncated columns.