Problem when opening an Excel document from SharePoint

Question

Hello,

I have already seen other posts about this issue, but they are old and do not provide a real solution.

When the user accesses the Excel file from SharePoint using Excel Online, they see corrupted characters.

The same issue occurs even when changing browsers.

Clearing the cache doesn’t work, and the language settings appear to be correct.

Restarting the PC temporarily fixes the problem, but it comes back later.

The file opens correctly in the desktop version of Excel, which is what I currently recommend.

Do you have an effective and permanent solution for this problem, not just a temporary workaround?

I can’t share a screenshot actually, but it’s just incorrectly encoded characters — the correct value is still visible in the formula bar.

Answer 1

Dear Tonnette jules,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

I understand you're facing a disrupting issue where an Excel file opened from SharePoint consistently displays corrupted characters in Excel Online, even though the correct value is visible in the formula bar and the file opens fine in the desktop version. The issue is often linked to corrupted or missing system fonts (commonly Arial or Times New Roman) on the affected PC. Excel Online relies on these fonts being present and healthy on the local system to render cell content correctly. When the font is corrupted or not loaded properly, you see unreadable or "gibberish" characters, even though the formula bar displays the correct value. Here are some steps you can try to resolve this:

1. Restore Default System Fonts

• Open the Windows Control Panel.
• Go to Appearance and Personalization > Fonts > Font settings.
• Click Restore default font settings.
• Restart your PC.

2. Reinstall or Repair Problematic Fonts

If restoring defaults does not work, manually reinstall the affected fonts:

• Download fresh copies of Arial and Times New Roman from a trusted source, or copy them from a working PC.
• Delete the problematic fonts from C:\Windows\Fonts, then install the new ones.
• Restart the PC after reinstalling fonts.

3. Clear Windows Font Cache

This ensures that any corrupted cached font information is removed.

• Open Services (search for "services.msc" in the Windows search bar).
• Find and Stop the "Windows Font Cache Service."
• Open File Explorer and navigate to %localappdata%\FontCache (you can paste this into the address bar). Delete all files within this folder.
• Go back to the Services window, Start the "Windows Font Cache Service."
• Restart your PC.

4. Check for Group Policy or MDM Font Restrictions

In managed environments (like a work PC), group policies or Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions might restrict or override font settings, which could cause display issues. Ask your IT administrator to review and remove any such restrictions if present.

5. Change the Default Font in Excel Online

This can sometimes bypass the rendering issue if it's specific to Arial or Times New Roman.

When the file is open in Excel Online, try selecting all affected cells and changing the font to Calibri or another standard font using the font options in the Excel Online ribbon. See if the characters display correctly.

If none of the above solutions work, let me know for further investigation. Please note that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.
Kind regards,

Kai-L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Thank you very much for your detailed suggestions and for explaining the possible root cause. I appreciate your help.

Actually, I can’t check or fix the fonts on the computer yet for another reason, but I will get back to you as soon as I am able to test this.
Regarding the Group Policy or MDM, I haven’t seen any settings related to fonts.
Solution #5 works temporarily, but the issue comes back after some time.

Jules T