Translate

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Addin → Group Text and Number

Command ID: btnTranslate

What it does

Opens a translation window that converts the content of the selected cells into another language and writes the result straight back into the sheet. 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. The window is modeless, so you can still click around the worksheet while it is open.

How to use

1. Select the cells you want translated.
2. Go to tab DVD Addin → group Text and Number → click Translate. The translation window appears (if it is already open it is simply brought to the front).
3. In the Languages card, pick the source language in From and the target in To — both boxes are editable, so you can type to find a language quickly.
4. In the Output card, choose how the result is written:
   • translation only (replaces the original text),
   • source and translation on the same line,
   • source and translation on separate lines inside the same cell.
5. In the Service card, choose Google, Gemini or ChatGPT.
6. Click Translate to run. The status line at the bottom of the window reports progress and any errors.
7. Click Save settings before closing if you want the same choices next time.

Example

A material schedule going to an overseas consultant: select the "Material name" column (A2:A40), open the window, set From = Vietnamese, To = English, output = source and translation on separate lines, service = Google, then click Translate. Each cell becomes:

Thép hình I200 mạ kẽm nhúng nóng
Hot-dip galvanized I200 steel section

The table stays searchable in Vietnamese while remaining readable for the foreign reviewer.

Notes

• An Internet connection is required — translations come from an online service, and a dropped connection is reported on the status line.
• Results overwrite the cells and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z; work on a copy, or pick one of the "source + translation" output modes to keep the original.
• The Gemini and ChatGPT options need a valid API key configured in the add-in; without one, use Google.
• Large selections take time and may hit the service's rate limit — run them in batches of a few dozen rows.
• Construction terminology (concrete grades, element names, units of measure) must be checked by hand; machine translation is weakest exactly there.

Related

• AI Assistant — heavier text work than plain translation (summarising, rewriting to a document format).
• AI Grammar check — proofread the wording after translating.
• To Unicode — normalise the encoding first so you never send garbled legacy text out.
• Switch language — change the add-in's own interface language (Vietnamese/English).