Translate a product catalogue in Excel into German

What German changes in a product catalogue

A catalogue is mostly short labels in fixed-width columns, which is exactly where German hurts most.

• Compound nouns. "Stainless steel chopping board" becomes Edelstahl-Schneidebrett: one block with no space to break on. In a tightly set "Product name" column, it spills over or gets cut off.
• Length. German text often runs 20 to 35% longer than English. Long descriptions cope; headers and attribute values ("Colour", "Material") suffer most.
• Capitalised nouns. Kabelloser Akku-Staubsauger mit Wandhalterung: every noun takes a capital. That is the rule, not a typo, so leave it alone when proofreading.
• Register. Sales copy addresses the customer as Sie: "Enjoy a clean cut" becomes Genießen Sie einen sauberen Schnitt. A casual brand voice in English will not automatically carry over.
• Units and plurals. German has only two plural forms (one, other), and Stück stays unchanged after a number: 1 Stück, 12 Stück. Dimensions given as "W × D × H" are usually written B × T × H (Breite, Tiefe, Höhe).

What Manuce translates in your workbook

Manuce reads every sheet in the workbook, not just the first: a "Kitchen range" sheet, an "Accessories" sheet and a "Terms" sheet are all translated together. The text goes to Calliope, the marketing and sales specialist, which treats product descriptions as selling copy rather than a word list.

• Formulas are left untouched. A price column built on =C2*(1+D2) keeps its formula and goes on calculating in the German version.
• Numbers, dates and amounts stay as they are: numeric item codes, EAN codes stored as numbers, prices, weights.
• You get your original .xlsx back with column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells preserved. The German text replaces the source text cell by cell.

You also receive a Word version, a PDF and plain text, handy for having a German-speaking colleague review descriptions without sending them the workbook.

What Manuce does not do with this file

• Sheet tab names are not translated. The upside: formulas pointing to 'Prices'!B2 keep working.
• Cell comments, charts, shapes and text boxes placed on the sheet (a "New" banner, a callout with a selling point) are not translated.
• Columns are not widened. If "Waterproof cover" only just fitted, wasserdichte Schutzhülle will be cut off on screen, just as an over-long entry would be in the original.
• Text written inside a formula stays in the source language, since formulas are not altered: ="Price incl. VAT: "&C2 will still display "Price incl. VAT:" in the German file.

Manuce does not provide certified (sworn) translations either. A sales catalogue rarely needs one, but if a distributor insists on a certified document, you will need a sworn translator.

Preparing the catalogue before upload

1. Move text out of shapes. A selling point sitting in a text box will not be translated; copy it into a cell.
2. Find formulas that build text, such as concatenations like =A2&" – "&B2. If their result must appear in German, paste them as values before uploading, or rewrite the fixed wording after delivery.
3. Mind import files. If the workbook feeds an online shop, the header row will be translated too; keep a copy of the original row to paste back if your platform expects "title" rather than Bezeichnung.
4. Check product and brand names in the free sample: should a range called "Atelier Line" stay as it is or become Linie Atelier? Manuce does not take term lists, so the sample and then the translation are where you check this.

Checking the German version

• Narrow columns: turn on text wrapping or widen the "Product name" and "Specifications" columns. Sorting by text length helps you find the cells that overflow.
• Decimals written in text: a description reading "weight 1.5 kg" should read 1,5 kg in German. Numeric cells, by contrast, display according to the regional settings of whoever opens the file.
• Consistent register: make sure every piece of sales copy uses Sie across all sheets.
• Codes stored as text: a reference such as BRD-SS-40 entered as text should come out unchanged; spot-check a few rows.

In practice

1. Move any text that needs translating out of shapes and comments.
2. Upload the .xlsx and choose German: the quote appears based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free sample and check product names, register and units.
4. After payment, download the translated .xlsx, the Word version, the PDF and plain text.
5. Widen narrow columns and translate tab names or charts by hand if needed.