HEX2BIN Function (LibreOffice Calc)

HEX2BIN converts hexadecimal text to binary text in LibreOffice Calc. For example, =HEX2BIN("6a";8) returns 01101010. The letter a represents 10 in base 16, so 6a = 6×16 + 10 = decimal 106. With eight output places, Calc adds one zero to the seven-bit binary value 1101010.

=HEX2BIN(Number [; Places])

Number — Required. Hexadecimal text containing digits 0–9 and letters A–F (case-insensitive), up to 10 hex characters under the signed analysis-functions convention.

Places — Optional. Number of output positions when padding a positive binary result with leading zeros. Without it, the positive result has the minimum needed width.

Square brackets around ; Places signify optional syntax, not literal characters to type. English Calc uses a semicolon argument separator. This function is documented in LibreOffice 26.8 Help’s Analysis Add-in group, and its behavior below was natively observed in LibreOffice Calc 25.2.3.2. The official entry does not provide a reliable minimum-version label, so none is invented. See the official syntax.

Enter codes as text in F2:F5 and type the corresponding formulas in G2:G5. Unlike arbitrary-length hexadecimal decoders, HEX2BIN’s output range is limited to a signed ten-bit binary result.

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You can verify row 2 numerically with =BIN2DEC(HEX2BIN("6A")), which returns 106. The output is text, important for leading zeros in bit masks. As with the other base functions, type a hexadecimal input such as "0A" into a text-formatted cell if its leading zero carries meaning.

=HEX2BIN("1FF") returns 111111111, representing the maximum positive result, decimal 511. A positive code "200" equals decimal 512 and produced Err:502, rather than a wider binary result. Increasing Places only adds padding; it does not expand the permitted value range.

A full-width hexadecimal two’s-complement value such as "FFFFFFFFFF" encodes -1. =HEX2BIN("FFFFFFFFFF") returns 1111111111 (ten ones). The native test =HEX2BIN("FFFFFFFFFF";2) still returned ten ones, demonstrating that negative fixed-width values did not shorten when Places was smaller. Do not interpret these full-width signed values as ordinary unsigned hex integers.

For an audit step, =DEC2HEX(BIN2DEC(HEX2BIN("6A"))) returns 6A, performing a round trip through binary and decimal. This example is safe because the intermediate positive value is inside HEX2BIN’s supported range.

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If a valid code unexpectedly fails, check the source cell for prefixed 0x notation, trailing spaces, non-hex letters and a value above the supported range. For larger numbers, HEX2DEC can decode a wider signed hexadecimal value into decimal, but HEX2BIN itself is not an unlimited binary conversion tool.

Microsoft documents HEX2BIN(number, [places]) for supported Excel versions (see Microsoft’s HEX2BIN function page). The English Excel separator is usually a comma, compared with the semicolon in English Calc formulas. Microsoft lists #NUM! / #VALUE! issues where Calc’s tested invalid inputs displayed Err:502. This is a documentation comparison; Excel and Google Sheets were not executed, nor were exported formulas round-tripped between applications.

HEX2DEC · HEX2OCT · BIN2DEC · DEC2BIN

• LibreOffice 26.8 Help — HEX2BIN, checked 2026-10-11: named function, arguments, optional padding, two’s-complement input notation.
• Microsoft Support — HEX2BIN, checked 2026-10-11: Excel’s compatible function and signed ten-bit result limitations (not native Excel testing).
• Native execution: LibreOffice Calc 25.2.3.2 via UNO, including valid reference-cell conversions, a round trip, and named Err:502 cases. Full test results, actual ODS file and script are included in the associated batch. LibreOffice 26.8 itself was not executed, and Help-version labels must not be misread as native test versions.

Selected example formulas were run in LibreOffice Calc 25.2.3.2 on Linux on October 12, 2026. The official Help may cover a newer version. Tests of selected formulas do not certify every locale, interactive array operation or file round trip. View the example-check record.

Official HEX2BIN reference · Editorial standards