A bilingual XLSX file is a spreadsheet that wxrks generates for a work unit: one column for the source text, one for the target text, plus metadata columns that describe each segment. Export one to translate or review a file outside the Editor — in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet tool — then import it back into the same project to bring your changes into wxrks.
💡 Who is this for? This guide is for Project Managers and Vendors who need to export a work unit as a bilingual XLSX file for offline translation or review, then import the finished file back into wxrks.
1. Bilingual XLSX vs. other file formats
wxrks offers more than one way to move translation work outside the platform, and it helps to know which one you actually need:
A bilingual XLSX file (this article) is a spreadsheet-based format native to wxrks. It's the simplest option if you or your reviewer are comfortable working in Excel or Google Sheets and don't need a dedicated CAT tool.
If your linguist works in an external CAT tool instead, use XLIFF, the industry-standard bilingual format, covered in How to Export/Import XLIFF files from/to wxrks.
This is also different from a multilingual .xlsx file, which is a single spreadsheet with one column per target language used at project creation to generate several work units at once. A bilingual XLSX file, by contrast, is generated per work unit and per target language, after the project already exists, specifically so it can be edited offline and reimported.
2. Exporting a bilingual XLSX file
Open the project (from Projects, or from your task list if you're a Vendor) and find the file or work unit you want to export.
Click Import/Export, then select the XLSX option under Export.
Choose how much to export:
Whole project at workflow: exports a bilingual XLSX file for every file and target language at the selected workflow step, packaged into one .ZIP.
Selected Work Units: select one or more work units first, then export just those — still delivered as a .ZIP, even for a single file.
Exports always use the current source text, including any edits made after the file was originally uploaded — not necessarily what was in the original source file.
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3. Reading the exported file
Each exported file includes a short legend at the top explaining the cell colors, plus columns for the segment's Context Key (if present), segment number, Source, Target, and Origin (where the pre-translated content came from: TM, MT, or AI).
The color legend:
Editable Cells: available for translation or editing.
Locked Cells: won't be imported back into the Editor. To bring in an edit made to a locked cell, unlock that segment in the Editor first.
Hidden Cells: not visible to users.
Origin Cells: show whether the original translation came from TM, MT, or AI pre-translation.
Repetition Cells: shaded to flag a segment as a repetition.
Depending on the project's settings, you may also see: Target Chars Count, Chars Limit, and Exceeded columns if the project has Target Char Limitation enabled; and Alternative Translation, Back Translation, or Comments columns if any segments have that data.
4. Importing a bilingual XLSX file into wxrks
You can only import a bilingual XLSX file that was exported from this same project. The file carries hidden identifiers wxrks uses to match each row back to the exact segment it came from, so a file built from scratch, or exported from a different project, can't be imported.
From the same project or task view, click Import/Export, then Bulk import zip.
Select XLSX as the file type to import.
Choose how imported segments should be confirmed:
Confirm only changed segments (on by default): confirms only the segments whose target text you actually changed in the file.
Confirm all imported segments: confirms every segment that has non-empty target text in the file, whether or not you changed it.
Turning one toggle on turns the other off. Turn both off to import without auto-confirming anything, if you'd rather review and confirm each segment yourself in the Editor afterward. Confirmed segments are saved to the project's translation memory if the project's TM is set to write.Click Browse, choose the .ZIP file you exported earlier, then click Import. Wait for the Close button to appear before leaving the window.
Once the import finishes, the target segments in the affected work unit(s) are updated with the content from your file.
Related articles
How to Export/Import XLIFF files from/to wxrks — the same export/reimport idea, using the industry-standard XLIFF format for third-party CAT tools instead of a spreadsheet.
How to work with a multilingual .xlsx file in wxrks — a different .xlsx workflow, used at project creation to translate multiple languages from one file.
How to use Target Char Limitation in wxrks — configuring the character-limit columns that can appear in your exported file.