DBCS
Converts half-width (single-byte) characters in a text string to full-width (double-byte) characters. The reverse of ASC.
DBCS(text)Arguments
textThe text or cell reference containing characters to convert.
=DBCS("EXCEL")Converts half-width Latin letters to full-width
=DBCS("123")Converts half-width digits to full-width
=DBCS(A1)Formats text using full-width characters
- •Available since Excel 2013
- •Use ASC for the reverse conversion (full-width → half-width)
- •Only affects characters that have a full-width equivalent
- •Particularly useful for formatting East Asian text
- •Using DBCS on text that has no half-width equivalent to convert, expecting an error - it simply passes those characters through unchanged
- •Confusing DBCS with a text-formatting or styling function - it only affects character width (single-byte to double-byte), not fonts, colors, or bold/italic formatting
- •Applying DBCS outside of an East Asian text context expecting a meaningful visual result - most Latin text has little practical use for full-width conversion
ASCPerforms the reverse conversion - turns full-width characters back into half-width ones.TEXTFormats numbers into text with specific patterns, an unrelated kind of text transformation to DBCS's width conversion.UNICHARCan insert specific full-width Unicode characters directly by code point, an alternative when DBCS's automatic conversion isn't precise enough.What does DBCS actually do?
It converts half-width (single-byte) characters into their full-width (double-byte) equivalents, mainly used for formatting East Asian text to match full-width conventions.
Why does DBCS leave some characters unchanged?
Only characters with a defined full-width equivalent get converted - characters without one pass through exactly as they were.
Is DBCS available in every version of Excel?
It's been available since Excel 2013, but its practical effect depends on whether double-byte character set support is relevant to your data - it's most useful when preparing text for Japanese, Chinese, or Korean systems.
Need to translate a formula using DBCS?
Use our translator to convert your complete formula