Translator

The Microsoft Excel functions have been localized into many languages. If you send your Excel file to someone using a different language for Excel than you, the functions and formulas used in the workbook are automatically translated by Excel when opening the file. However, the automatic translation usually does not work, if you directly insert foreign language formulas into your worksheet. Such a situation may for example occur, if you are using Excel in German and want to use an English formula provided by a forum. The following online tool allows you to translate an Excel formula from one language into another language and therefore use the localized formula.

Microsoft Excel

Source formula

Source language

Target language

Options

Separator for the function arguments

No action

Replace semi-colons with commas

Replace commas with semi-colons

First argument for CELL()

Translate argument to English

Translate argument to target language

First argument for INFO()

Translate argument to English

Translate argument to target language

Target formula

Mourad

2015-08-19 at 12:49

Hi XOR LX,
thanks for the quick feedback and the sugestion to flag the versions. I can not say at this moment how complicated it will be to add a result box, but I will do some tests and see.
Regards, Mourad

XOR LX

2015-08-19 at 12:37

Hi Mourad.

Perhaps you have a point there.

As you have probably gathered, I use your tool quite extensively, and on forums in several different languages. Although most of these forums require that users give their version (2010, 2013, etc.), this does not go to the level of detail of Service Pack. As such, unless I specifically ask each person to find out that information, I will not know whether the SP1 version is the appropriate one or not when using your tool.

For now, and as you suggest, it probably makes sense to make the SP1 version the default. I guess it would be making matters too complicated to flag any formulas which have a different translation in the non-SP1 version? Or perhaps present two result boxes for 2010? At least that way, when the results differ, readers will be encouraged to find out which version they are using. Still, seems like a lot of work, though!

For the time being, I may simply translate twice and compare the results: if they differ, I will post both when giving solutions.

Many thanks.

Regards

2015-08-19 at 12:20

Hi XOR LX
no problem. Au contraire, I am thankful for your post!
I try to explain why: many people are visiting this site and using the translator. I think, most of these users are normal users doing their work with Excel and e.g. working in companies. I also think, that many users don’t update Excel by themselves but have an IT department doing this job. So, the users know which Excel version (e.g. 2010 or 2013) they are using but not always which service pack. Therefore, the way to choose the version in the version list may not be optimal, because how will the user know which choice (SP1 or not) he has to do? Ok, he can look in the Excel Info Dialogue, but letting him choose the SP in the version list may be confusing. I guess, it’s better to only have Excel 2010, Excel 2013 and Excel 2016 in the list. And, if the user chooses Excel 2010 to then display another list for the SP’s with default = the latest version. The integration of the Excel 2013 functions is under development, so I think I will change the version list at the same time. What do you think?
Regards, Mourad

2015-08-19 at 11:50

My sincere apologies. I did indeed choose Excel 2010. In fact, I wasn’t even sure of the difference between that and the “SP1” version, which of course is something I should have researched before suggesting that your excellent tool was in error!

Thanks for clarifying.

2015-08-19 at 11:31

Hi XOR LX,
did you perhaps choose Excel 2010 in the Excel version list? If so, then LOOKUP is OPSLAG. But in Excel 2010 SP1 and later, the function was renamed to SLÅ.OP. Microsoft changed the translation of some function names in Service Pack 1. This is for example the case for http://en.excel-translator.de/lookup/ in Dutch and Danish.
I guess, most people having Excel 2010 also have the SP1 installed nowadays, so you can always choose Excel 2010 SP1 from the version list.
Regards, Mourad

2015-08-19 at 09:02

Ok, thanks for letting me know, Mourad.

On another issue, could you check your translation for the following function, please?

Excel 2010 – English to Danish – function: LOOKUP.

Your translator returns: OPSLAG, though this does not appear to be correct? I’m wondering if it should be SLÅ.OP?

http://www.excelforum.com/excel-general/1099827-return-last-value-that-is-greater-than-0-in-a-row.html

2015-08-11 at 10:54

Hi XOR LX,
thanks for testing. Yes, I will inform you as soon as I have found a solution for the array constants. I think, a solution is possible, as the separators are determined. However this will result in large testing, as I should test a file on different windows and Excel installations + language packs. Will lead to a big virtual machine. For example, on my windows in German, the separators are the dot and the semi-colon for the array constants. I think, a solution will firstly only work for default installs, meaning only for installs where the user didn’t change the configuration. May be, I implement some comboboxes to let the user choose the separators by himself, if his configuration is different. Please note, that we are probably moving to a new home in September. Therefore coding the new features will take a while ;-)
Best, Mourad

2015-08-11 at 10:03

Many thanks. I have just checked the issue of the single apostrophe and it does indeed appear to render correctly now.

I also appreciate that the issue re distinguishing between commas as separators in array constants and as separators in function arguments may be more complex and therefore difficult to resolve. Please let me know if you ever do manage to find a solution.

Many thanks again.

2015-08-10 at 17:38

Hi again,
the problem with the single apostroph was a little bit deeper. I can not say, if it was the server or the wordpress update or both which caused the problem. For example when translating a simple formula such as =SUM(‘Table 1’!A1:A5), the apostroph was also encoded.
The problem should be fixed now :-)
Best, Mourad

2015-08-10 at 16:49

Hi XOR LX,
first, many thanks for pointing me out to these problems. Yes, you’re right.
The single apostroph should not be HTML encoded. This may be related to the new version of the translator. I fully integrated it in WordPress. When sending the data, WP does some validations and then may be replacing the ‘ by & # 039; before it reaches the formula parser. I think, I can fix this problem.
Concerning the second problem you described, I must admit, I haven’t tested such cases extensively. This means to improve the formula parser for parsing array constants and their separators. I can not currently say, if it will be possible to recognize the orthogonality without loosing too much performance. But I will definitively check it.
Thanks again for your feedback, highly appreciated!
Best regards, Mourad

2015-08-10 at 16:04

Edit: Apologies: my single apostrophe example was not very successful. The translated formula for the single apostrophe example should have been:

=INDIRETTO(“#039;!D2”)

(in which I have deliberately left out the & this time.

2015-08-10 at 16:00

Hi again.

As I previously commented, fantastic and extremely useful site.

I have a couple of points which I thought may be of interest to you.

The first is that I have noticed that certain characters, e.g. a single apostrophe (‘), are rendered as their HTML-equivalent (') when translated (from English to Italian, for example).

For example, when set to Microsoft Excel 2010/English to Italian, the formula

=INDIRECT(“‘!D2”)

is rendered:

=INDIRETTO(“'!D2”)

Is their a way to resolve this?

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the “Separator for the function arguments” parameter does not seem to distinguish between commas and semi-colons as argument separators in functions and those as separators in array constants. Hence, bulk replacement of these characters can lead to erroneous translations.

For example, the construction:

=SUM(0+MID(A1,{1,2,3},{1;2;3}))

when set to “Replace commas with semi-colons” translates as (e.g. to the German):

=SUMME(0+TEIL(A1;{1;2;3};{1;2;3}))

though this is not at all equivalent, since the orthogonality of the first array has now changed. I believe the correct translation in this case would be:

=SUMME(0+TEIL(A1;{123};{1;2;3}))

Is there a means by which your tool can be set so that the “Separator for the function arguments” parameter does not affect those commas which are not actually function arguments, but array constant separators? Even better, would it be possible so that correct translation of the latter is a feature, e.g. so that {1,2,3} would be rendered {123}?

Many thanks again for such a fine tool.

2015-05-16 at 19:12

Hello Goncalo, thanks :-)

Goncalo Monteiro

2015-05-16 at 15:47

Top tool. Thansk and congrats!

2015-05-08 at 07:07

Hello Michael,
thanks, glad, the site helped out :-)
Best regards, Mourad

Michael Willer

2015-05-07 at 21:54

Thanks for this great service.
The localized formulars were driving me nuts!