This is a classic example of a tool getting in the way of the work. A student in a logistics trade school has the right instinct, showing their formulas, not just the results, so the teacher can follow the reasoning. But a simple copy-paste from Swedish Excel to an online sheet turns those formulas into plain text. That is not a user error. It is a failure of the tools to meet a very human need: collaboration without friction.
The core problem here is language and context. Excel in Swedish uses function names like `SUMMA` instead of `SUM`, and when you paste into an online sheet that expects English functions, the formula breaks. The paste-special option for formulas is greyed out because the receiving application cannot interpret the source. This is not a bug; it is a compatibility gap that forces users to choose between keeping their work live or keeping their work accurate. The student's choice to translate the functions manually is a workaround, but it is also a sign that the current tools assume everyone works in the same language and the same environment.
What this means in practical terms is that the burden of translation falls on the user. If you are working across language versions of Excel, or between desktop and online sheets, you need to plan ahead. One approach is to keep a local copy of your work with formulas intact and paste only values into the shared document. That preserves the final numbers but hides the logic. Another is to write a separate explanation of your calculations in a text box or a comment. Neither is ideal. The better solution is to use a platform that natively supports multiple function languages or that can auto-translate formulas during paste. Some online sheets now offer this, but the student's experience shows it is not universal.
Our view is simple: formulas are the backbone of spreadsheet work, especially in education. When a student is forced to strip out their formulas just to collaborate, the learning suffers. The teacher cannot see the method, only the result. That defeats the purpose of showing your work. The industry needs to treat cross-language formula compatibility as a basic feature, not an edge case. Until then, if you find yourself in this situation, test your paste on a single cell first. Use the "paste values only" option to keep the numbers, then manually re-enter the translated formulas in the online sheet. It is tedious, but it preserves the logic your teacher needs to see.