Formatting Issues

How to Fix Excel Showing Symbols Instead of Text in Cells

Aamir Naveed Akram Oct 16, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user experiences an issue where worksheet cells display unreadable symbols, despite the correct text appearing in the formula bar.

How to Fix Excel Showing Symbols Instead of Text in Cells

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Viewing or editing data in a spreadsheet using the Excel desktop application.
Observed behavior: Cells render strange symbols or gibberish characters instead of the expected text, while the formula bar displays the content accurately.

Before you start

Ensure that you have not accidentally applied a symbol-based font such as Wingdings or Webdings to the affected cells, and confirm that your system language settings match your spreadsheet data.

Solution 1Recommended

Change the Cell Font to a Standard Option

The most common reason for symbols appearing in cells is an incompatible or symbol-based font. Switching to a standard font resolves most display issues.

Sometimes, downloading files from external sources or copying data from other applications can introduce unsupported fonts.

Select the affected cells

Click and drag to highlight all the cells in the worksheet that are displaying symbols instead of text.

Open the font dropdown

Navigate to the 'Home' tab on the top ribbon and locate the Font dropdown menu.

Select a standard font

Scroll through the font list and select a universally recognized font such as 'Calibri' or 'Arial' to restore readability.

Change the Cell Font to a Standard Option

Quick Formatting: You can also press Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box and adjust your font settings from the Font tab directly.

Solution 2

Use the Format Painter to Copy Correct Formatting

Applying the formatting from a normally displaying cell can instantly override corrupted formatting on the affected cells.

Solution 3

Strip Corrupted Formatting Using Notepad

Pasting your data into a plain text editor like Notepad removes all hidden formatting, allowing you to paste clean text back into your worksheet.

Open and Edit Your Spreadsheets Cleanly with WPS Office

If your spreadsheet continues to display formatting errors or unreadable symbols, try opening your workbook in WPS Spreadsheet to repair the font formatting and seamlessly view your data correctly.

1. Open your file in WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office, click on 'Spreadsheet', go to 'Menu' > 'Open', and select your Excel file.
2. Select the unreadable cells: Highlight the specific cells that are displaying formatting errors or symbols.
3. Apply standard text formatting: Navigate to the 'Home' tab and choose a standard font like Arial from the font dropdown list to restore your text.
4. Save your document: Click 'Menu' > 'Save' to easily retain the document in its original .xlsx format.

100% compatible with Microsoft Excel formats (.xlsx, .xls)User-friendly interface for quick and easy formatting adjustmentsLightweight application that runs smoothly on most devices without lagging

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Excel show pound/hash signs (#####) instead of text?

Hash signs usually indicate that the column is too narrow to display the cell's numerical contents. Simply double-click the right border of the column header to auto-fit the width to your data.

Can a corrupted Excel file cause text to appear as unreadable characters?

Yes, severe file corruption can damage the document's structure, causing data to render as strange symbols. You can try using the 'Open and Repair' feature in Excel by navigating to File > Open, clicking the arrow next to the Open button, and selecting 'Open and Repair'.

How do I change the default font for new Excel workbooks to prevent this issue?

Go to File > Options > General. Under the 'When creating new workbooks' section, adjust the 'Use this as the default font' setting to your preferred standard font (such as Calibri) and click OK. You will need to restart Excel for the changes to take effect.

Document & File Issues