Spreadsheets mix labels, numbers and formulas. You usually want 客户 to become 客戶 without turning =SUM(B2:B20) into a quoted string. Converting an .xlsx file as a workbook is built for that: change Chinese cell text, leave the grid, the numbers and the formula syntax alone.
ChineseDocConverter accepts Excel workbooks and converts Chinese it finds in the file. Dates, numeric formats and formula structure should remain spreadsheet data. The download is a new workbook. Keep the original.
What should convert
- Chinese in ordinary cells
- Chinese in sheet names, when those names are text
- Chinese in comments and some labels attached to the sheet
- Chinese in headers that are real cell values, not pictures
What to watch
Header rows and sheet tabs. These are short, so one-to-many characters have little context. A column titled 后 is a guess.
Data validation lists and chart titles. Extra strings hide there. Open the download and click a dropdown. Look at a chart.
Pivot caches and external links. Unusual workbooks can store copies of labels in more than one place. If a pivot looks bilingual after conversion, refresh it from the converted source data and inspect the field list.
Images of Chinese. A screenshot pasted into a sheet will not convert.
CSV that someone renamed to .xlsx. If the file is not a real workbook, save a proper .xlsx from Excel first.
Encoding that was already wrong. Mojibake in a cell will still be mojibake after OpenCC. Fix garbled text first.
Formulas and the fear of breaking them
A formula is a small language. =SUM should stay =SUM. Cell references should stay cell references. Chinese might appear inside a formula as a sheet name or as a text argument: =VLOOKUP("客户", ...). Those text arguments should convert if they are Chinese words you want in the target standard. Sheet names that convert must still match the references that point at them.
After conversion, Excel may warn about links or names. That is a reason to calculate the sheet once and look at a known total, not a reason to assume every number changed. Numbers do not have Simplified forms.
If a named range used a Chinese name, open the name manager and read it. Hidden names are a classic leftover.
Regional vocabulary
Taiwan and Hong Kong may prefer different words as well as different characters. A header that says 软件 / 軟體 / 軟件 is a vocabulary choice, not a stroke choice. OpenCC types that include "phrases" try to handle some of that. Read Taiwan vs Hong Kong Traditional Chinese and OpenCC conversion types before you pick an option.
For a finance sheet, phrase substitution can be more surprising than on a blog post. If the workbook is a template used in one city, prefer the matching regional type and then lock the headers you care about.
Workflow
- Confirm the file is
.xlsxand the Chinese is readable. - Note a few checksums: a total, a count, a date.
- Upload the workbook to the document converter.
- Open the download. Check a sheet with both Chinese labels and formulas.
- Check sheet tabs, a chart, and a validation list.
- Proofread the label columns. Do not "read" the numeric columns looking for characters that were never there.
If you only need to test a header row, paste those cells into the text converter first.
Frequently asked questions
Will array formulas survive? Treat advanced formula families as something to verify. The design goal is to leave formula syntax in place.
Can I convert one sheet only? The public tool converts the workbook you upload. Split the file in Excel if you must isolate a sheet.
Why is a cell showing boxes? The code point may be correct and the font may lack the glyph. Change the cell font.
Does password protection block conversion? If the file cannot be opened, remove protection locally first.
Should I convert a workbook that is also a model with VBA? Macros are a risk. Keep a copy. After conversion, run the macros on sample data before you trust the file in production.