Formatting Issues

How to Fix Unusual Icons Next to Names in Excel Cells

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 21, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users notice small, unusual icons or symbols appearing next to text, particularly names, in Excel cells.

How to Remove Unusual Icons Next to Names in Excel Cells

Product: Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Importing data from external databases, or copying and pasting text from web pages or other applications into Excel.
Observed behavior: Unwanted formatting marks, hidden characters, or strange icons show up next to the text content within the Excel spreadsheet cells.

Before you start

Identify whether the data containing the unusual icons was imported from an external database or copied from a webpage, as this helps determine if you are dealing with web formatting artifacts or non-printable ASCII characters.

Solution 1Recommended

Format Cells as Text and Clear Hidden Characters

Changing the cell format to Text and manually reviewing or stripping the data helps remove hidden formatting marks and non-printable characters.

Often, icons or strange symbols are actually hidden formatting marks imported alongside your data. Forcing Excel to treat the cell contents strictly as plain text can resolve display anomalies.

Select the affected cells

Click and drag your mouse to highlight the specific cells or the entire column (e.g., the last-name column) where the unusual icons appear.

Open the Format Cells dialog

Right-click the highlighted selection and click on 'Format Cells' from the context menu, or press 'Ctrl + 1' on your keyboard.

Apply Text format

Navigate to the 'Number' tab in the dialog box, select 'Text' from the Category list on the left side, and click 'OK'.

Use the CLEAN function (Optional)

If the icons persist, they may be non-printable characters. In an adjacent blank column, type the formula =CLEAN(A1) (replace A1 with your target cell) and press Enter to automatically strip these characters.

Format Cells as Text and Clear Hidden Characters

Quick Fix: Using the CLEAN function is one of the most effective ways to sanitize imported data without manually editing hundreds of rows.

Solution 2

Use Paste Special to Strip Formatting

Prevent unusual icons from appearing in the first place by pasting data into Excel without its original source formatting.

Easily Clean and Format Spreadsheet Data with WPS Office

WPS Spreadsheet provides intuitive data cleaning tools, straightforward cell formatting options, and seamless compatibility with Microsoft Excel files, making it incredibly easy to fix formatting glitches and remove unusual icons in your worksheets.

1. Open your file in WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office, open the Spreadsheet module, and load the document containing the unusual icons.
2. Select the problem data: Highlight the cells or columns containing the names and the unwanted formatting marks.
3. Clear existing formatting: Navigate to the 'Home' tab on the top ribbon, click the 'Clear' drop-down menu (represented by an eraser icon), and select 'Clear Formats'.
4. Set cell format to Text: Right-click the selected cells, choose 'Format Cells', go to the 'Number' tab, and select 'Text' to ensure no strange icons render from numerical formatting.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel formats (.xlsx, .xls, .csv), ensuring seamless data transfer.Quickly clear formatting and non-printable characters with intuitive ribbon tools.Lightweight software that handles large imported datasets smoothly without lagging.Free and easy-to-use alternative to manage all your daily spreadsheet tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do strange symbols appear when I paste data from a website into Excel?

Websites use different character encodings (like UTF-8) and HTML elements, such as non-breaking spaces or hidden web font icons. When pasted directly into Excel, the application may interpret these unseen web elements as strange symbols, boxes, or formatting marks.

What is the CLEAN function in Excel used for?

The CLEAN function takes the text contents of a referenced cell and removes all non-printable ASCII characters (characters 0 to 31). It is highly useful for cleaning up hidden icons or line breaks imported from other databases or text files.

Does using 'Clear Formats' remove the actual data in the cell?

No, 'Clear Formats' only removes the styling applied to the cell, such as fonts, background colors, borders, and custom number formatting. The actual text or numbers will remain completely intact, making it a safe troubleshooting step for display issues.

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