Translate

Translate converts the content of the selected cells into another language and writes the result straight back into the sheet. The window is modeless, so you can keep clicking around the worksheet while it stays open.

It pays off on projects with an international side: translating bills of quantities, material schedules, acceptance records or QA/QC checklists into English for a foreign supervision consultant, or turning a supplier's English specification into Vietnamese for the site team.

Commands in this group

Command	What it does
Translate	Opens the translation window and writes the result into the selected cells
To Unicode	Normalise the encoding first, so you do not send garbled legacy text to the service
Italic	Italicise the translated line inside two-line cells afterwards
Font Change	Give the translated part of the cell its own font
Grammar	Proof-read the wording with AI after translating

There is also the worksheet function dvdTranslate(Text, FromLang, ToLang), which translates through Google Translate — use it when you want a live formula result instead of overwriting the cell.

Translating a table into English

1. If the sheet came from a legacy file, run To Unicode first — sending TCVN3/VNI byte soup to a translator only returns nonsense.
2. Select the cells to translate.
3. Go to tab DVD Addin → group Text and Number → click Translate. If the window is already open it is simply brought to the front.
4. In the LANGUAGES card set From and To. Both boxes are editable, so you can type to find a language quickly.
5. In the OUTPUT FORMAT card pick one of three write-back styles:
   • Target only — replaces the original text.
   • Source / Target — same line (//) — both versions on one line.
   • Source / Target — new line — the translation on its own line inside the same cell.
6. In the SERVICE card choose Google Translate (free), Gemini (API key required) or ChatGPT / Groq / NVIDIA.
7. Click Translate (Apply) to run while keeping the window open — select another range and click again. Use Translate & Close (Go) for the final run. The status line at the bottom reports progress and any errors.
8. Click Save settings before closing if you want the same choices next time.
9. If you chose the new line style, reselect the translated range and run Italic with the default Chr(10) delimiter so the translated line becomes italic.

Example

A material schedule going to an overseas consultant. Select A2:A40, set From = Vietnamese, To = English, output = Source / Target — new line, service = Google Translate (free), then click Translate (Apply):

Cell	Before	After
A2	Thép hình I200 mạ kẽm nhúng nóng	Thép hình I200 mạ kẽm nhúng nóng Hot-dip galvanized I200 steel section
A3	Bê tông thương phẩm M300 độ sụt 12±2	Bê tông thương phẩm M300 độ sụt 12±2 Ready-mixed concrete M300, slump 12±2
A4	Ván khuôn thép định hình	Ván khuôn thép định hình Prefabricated steel formwork

The table stays searchable in Vietnamese while remaining readable for the foreign reviewer. The last step is a manual pass over concrete grades, element names and units.

Tips and caveats

• An internet connection is required — translations come from an online service; going offline produces an error on the status line.
• The result overwrites the cells and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z. Translate on a copy, or pick a Source / Target style so the original survives inside the cell.
• Gemini and ChatGPT / Groq / NVIDIA need a valid API key declared in the add-in; without one, use Google Translate (free).
• Cells with identical content are sent only once per run: the add-in collapses duplicate strings across the whole selection and then broadcasts the result back to every source cell, so columns full of repeated values (units, statuses, codes) translate fast and cheaply.
• Large selections are still slow and can hit the service's rate limit — work in batches of a few dozen rows.
• Construction terminology must be checked by hand: concrete grades, element names and units of measure are where machine translation goes wrong most often.
• Cell content leaves your machine for an external service — think twice before translating material covered by a confidentiality clause.

See also

• AI Assistant — text work beyond plain translation (summarising, rewriting to a template).
• Text Utilities — Italic, Font Change and Text Reverse for laying out bilingual tables.
• Encoding — bring legacy files to Unicode before translating.
• Grammar — spelling and grammar pass over the selected range.