(Disclosure: We are the Equalang team. This tutorial was drafted with AI writing assistance and verified against our document translation engine and sample test files.)
When working with overseas suppliers or international partners, you may receive quotation sheets or bills of materials formatted as .xlsx files written entirely in Chinese.
Translating item descriptions and specifications is necessary, but you also want to review calculations, adjust quantities, and check total expenditure. If you copy text into a standard web translator, you lose cell structure and inline styling, leaving you with fragments of text that have to be manually pasted back into your spreadsheet.
Instead of translating disconnected text fragments, you can translate the complete spreadsheet using Equalang Document Translation.
How Spreadsheet Translation Handles Formula Text and Formatting
Equalang natively processes .xlsx files with three practical considerations for quotation and spreadsheet workflows:
- Duplicates cost once: Text that repeats across the spreadsheet is translated only once, saving on your credit usage.
- Rich text is retained: In-cell bold text, font colors, and line breaks are preserved after translation, keeping highlighted details distinct.
- Numbers and formula text are untouched: Pure numeric inputs and formula text bypass translation entirely and are written back exactly as they were, allowing calculations to continue functioning.
Verified Sample: A Kitchenware Quotation
To see how this works in practice, we tested a team-created mock quotation covering four kitchenware items in Chinese. The sheet includes SKUs, 4 Chinese product descriptions, quantities, unit prices, and formulas that calculate row amounts and grand totals.
The original Chinese quotation before translation, containing SKUs, product descriptions, quantities, unit prices, and calculation formulas.
After uploading it to Equalang, we downloaded the translated English .xlsx spreadsheet:
The downloaded English quotation result, retaining active calculation formulas and numerical inputs.
In the downloaded spreadsheet, the product names are translated clearly—for example, 不锈钢保温杯 500ml becomes 500 ml Stainless Steel Insulated Cup, and 硅胶锅铲 becomes Silicone Spatula.
More importantly, the arithmetic remains active for this sample:
- Intact Inputs and Formula Text: All 8 numerical inputs and 5 math formulas were written back untouched.
-
Accurate Initial Total: The bottom sum formula displays
25210. -
Dynamic Recalculation: When we tested adjusting the order by changing the insulated cup's quantity from
500to501, the row amount immediately recalculated to9268.5, and the grand total automatically updated to25228.5.
A Note on Text-Dependent Rules
While preserving formula text allows arithmetic operations to continue calculating, you should be mindful of formulas that rely on specific text conditions.
For example, if your original sheet uses a COUNTIF formula to count occurrences of the Chinese word "现货" (In stock), the formula text is preserved exactly as it was. However, since the cell text has been translated into English, the original matching condition will fail, likely dropping the count to 0. When dealing with complex sheets, always manually check that text-dependent formulas, conditional formatting rules, and dropdown menus still function as intended after you review the items.
Getting Started
To translate an .xlsx quote, log in to Equalang Document Translation, upload your spreadsheet, choose your target language, and download your translated file ready for continued editing.
Sources
- Equalang Document Translation
- Equalang Supported Formats & Technical Specifications
- Official English Blog Guide
- Note: The quotation sheet used in this walkthrough is a fictional sample created by our team, not an actual supplier transaction.
Top comments (0)