Use =CHAR(...) to produce a text character from a numeric code. The full official syntax is =CHAR(number). This guide provides independently reasoned expected results, not results observed in ONLYOFFICE.

CHAR turns a numeric code into a character. For example, =CHAR(65) is expected to produce the letter A for the basic ASCII subset. ONLYOFFICE labels its result an “ASCII character,” but its documented 1–255 input interval extends beyond 7-bit ASCII; do not infer a universal character mapping for codes above 127. See the official CHAR function.

=CHAR(number)

There are 1 required arguments and no documented optional arguments. The names inside the signature are placeholders: do not type text or number literally unless that is a defined cell/range name.

This page is based on the unversioned English ONLYOFFICE Docs Spreadsheet Editor function catalogue and the function-specific official reference, accessed 2026-10-11 UTC. The direct function page confirms the signature described above; it does not state a first-supported build number. Therefore:

• Docs web/server editor: documented in the current help, but no native execution on an installed Docs build was performed.
• Desktop Editors: separate desktop changelog consulted; equivalence with any particular Desktop release is not established by the web-editor function article.
• Mobile/editor integrations: no edition-specific function execution was tested; the current web help is not an exhaustive compatibility matrix.
• Release context: the Docs changelog records Docs 9.4.0 on May 20, 2026 and the Desktop Editors changelog records Desktop 9.4.0 on May 19, 2026. Neither proves when this exact function was first introduced. Do not convert a changelog’s presence into an invented first-supported version.

All reproducible formulas below follow ONLYOFFICE’s English example convention: begin with =, use () and separate multiple arguments with commas. Literal text in a formula uses double quotes. The function insertion help demonstrates this syntax; Advanced Settings describes a selectable Formula Language and regional settings. Actual localized function spellings and argument separators must be checked on the target installation rather than assuming English settings or a universal semicolon rule.

In a blank worksheet enter these numeric codes (not quoted strings). A1 should contain Code; B1 should contain Character:

Use =CHAR(A2) in B2 and copy it down through B7. Plain ASCII mappings are used here so the expectations do not rely on a system-specific character table above 127.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Open a new worksheet and enter the exact values in the data table; check that values specified as text are not automatically converted to dates or numbers.
2. In the specified output cells, enter the formulas below. Use the Function Arguments dialog (Formula tab) if direct typing is inconvenient.
3. Compare results to the expected values and explanations; these are reference expectations and independently checked text/ASCII arithmetic, not native test observations.
4. If an unexpected result appears, first inspect the original cell value, case and hidden spaces; then confirm formula language, separators, arguments, and installed editor version.
5. Leave source data untouched and record any deviations before applying transformations to real records.

The examples intentionally avoid unverified high-byte character conversions and long Unicode sequences. Differences in target build, implicit coercion, regional settings, input data, line-break rendering or formula evaluation must be investigated rather than silently changing the expected answer.

Build a stable identifier with a delimiter

Set A9 to literal text PRD and B9 to text 007 (format B9 as Text before entry to preserve leading zeroes). In C9 enter:

=A9&CHAR(45)&B9

Expected: PRD-007. The ampersand joins text and CHAR(45) supplies an ASCII hyphen. If B9 is entered as numeric 7 instead of text 007, leading zeros will be lost upstream; CHAR cannot recover them.

Round-trip a basic ASCII character with CODE

=CODE(CHAR(65))

Expected: 65. This is a bounded basic-ASCII consistency check. It is not proof that CODE and CHAR are exact inverses for every value from 1 to 255, Unicode or every operating system. CODE reference.

1. The ONLYOFFICE documentation specifies an input between 1 and 255. Values such as 0 and 256 are outside the documented domain; an exact error for them has not been verified in ONLYOFFICE.
2. The text character “0” produced by CHAR(48) differs in type from the number 0. Do not assume numeric operations will treat them identically.
3. Line feeds, tabs and spaces may have little visible representation; use LEN or CODE helper formulas to diagnose them.
4. For Unicode beyond the range of CHAR, investigate the separately documented UNICHAR function; do not relabel CHAR as Unicode-aware from this source alone.
5. Codes 128–255 and their glyphs require environment-aware native tests. ONLYOFFICE docs do not provide a cross-platform mapping table.

1. Formula appears as text: confirm the leading equals sign, formula cell type, and that pasted quotes use straight " characters, not curly quotes.
2. Unexpected value: inspect the input with a helper LEN/CODE column or Show Formulas. Invisible characters and formatting can mislead visual inspection.
3. Unknown function or syntax warning: choose the function from the current Formula tab and confirm its signature in the installed build; then verify English versus localized Formula Language and argument separators.
4. Wrong result after copying: make sure cell references still point to the intended row; verify capitalization, spaces, and whether a referenced value is stored as a number or text.
5. Different result from Excel: review the comparison below; do not attribute a difference to a vendor bug without a controlled native reproduction using the same inputs.
6. Remaining disagreement: save a minimal workbook with raw inputs, the formula, edition/build number, operating system, chosen formula language, expected value and actual value; attach it to manual review.

The official function insertion guide also documents the Formula tab, function argument helper, Show Formulas and forced calculation. No browser action or screenshot was created for this guide.

Excel: Microsoft documents CHAR(number) with 1–255 and explicitly distinguishes Windows’ ANSI and Mac character sets; Excel for the web has additional restrictions on certain low-number codes. See the Excel CHAR documentation. ONLYOFFICE’s help gives the 1–255 range but does not document the same OS-specific mapping. Do not copy Excel’s Windows/Mac table into an ONLYOFFICE claim.

Related Unicode functionality: ONLYOFFICE UNICHAR is documented separately. Other spreadsheet software may share the CHAR name, but character-set and rendering differences should be checked by edition, locale and operating system.

The following official ONLYOFFICE function references were checked for syntax or related workflow, not treated as verified live Spreadsheet-Tutorials.com URLs:

• CODE reference — returns the code of a first character.
• UNICHAR reference — generates Unicode characters.
• LEN reference — reveals spaces and controls.
• CLEAN reference — removes nonprinting characters.

• ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor — function documentation
• function catalogue
• separate desktop changelog
• Docs changelog
• Advanced Settings
• CODE reference
• ONLYOFFICE UNICHAR

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor.

• No genuine ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.