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How to Fix Arial Appearing as Wingdings in Excel SharePoint Workbooks
Question details
Users experience font display issues where Arial text renders as Wingdings when viewing Excel workbooks in SharePoint.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel, SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Opening a shared Excel workbook directly in a web browser via SharePoint.
- Observed behavior
- Specific cells containing Arial text incorrectly display as Wingdings symbols in the browser view, despite appearing correctly for other users or when saved locally.
Verify that the affected workbook displays correctly when downloaded locally or accessed by other users to confirm the issue is isolated to the SharePoint browser environment.
Open the Workbook in the Excel Desktop Application
Bypassing the SharePoint web viewer by opening the file directly in the Excel desktop app resolves the font rendering issue.
Since this is a known rendering bug specific to the SharePoint web viewer, opening the file in the desktop version of Excel forces the system to use local font rendering, which accurately displays Arial.
Navigate to the affected Excel workbook in your SharePoint document library.
Click the three-dot menu icon next to the file name, or click the drop-down arrow if you are already previewing the document.
Choose 'Open in app' from the menu options instead of 'Open in browser' to launch the file in your local Excel desktop application.
Test Alternative Browsers or Profiles
Browser caching or profile-specific settings can sometimes trigger or worsen font substitution errors.
Switch to WPS Office for Reliable Spreadsheet Editing
Since font rendering issues in SharePoint are a known Microsoft web viewer bug, consider using WPS Office as a dependable desktop alternative. It offers a lightweight, highly compatible environment with precise font handling for your spreadsheets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Arial change to Wingdings only in SharePoint?
This is a known rendering bug within the Excel web viewer in SharePoint. It typically affects specific users or browser sessions where the web application fails to load the Arial font correctly, defaulting to Wingdings symbols instead.
Will Microsoft release a permanent fix for this font issue?
Yes, Microsoft product groups have been made aware of this SharePoint-specific font rendering bug and are working on rolling out a permanent fix to the web application.
Does this issue affect the actual data in my spreadsheet?
No, the underlying data remains perfectly intact. It is strictly a visual rendering issue in the browser. Downloading the file or opening it in a desktop application will reveal the correct text.
Can I prevent this by changing the font in my workbook?
Yes. As a temporary workaround, changing the font from Arial to another standard font like Calibri or Times New Roman may prevent the text from converting to Wingdings in the SharePoint web viewer.
