BINOMDIST Function (OpenOffice Calc)

• Introduced: First release not established; documented by OpenOffice.org 3.3.
• Supported in: Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16; this is not a final supported version.
• Scope: Desktop Calc with English semicolon-separated formulas. Locale and other-product contracts may differ.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Eight reference formulas and 2 boundary cases were recalculated in Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16 on Linux x86-64, Build 9816 after XLSX import; other explanatory calculations are independent references.

BINOMDIST models the number of successes in a fixed number of independent trials, each with the same success probability. False cumulative mode returns the mass at one success count. True cumulative mode returns the chance of that count or fewer. It does not calculate a continuous density. Release implementation.

=BINOMDIST(Successes; Trials; Probability; Cumulative)

Exactly four arguments are required. Successes and Trials are rounded down in the inspected implementation; use deliberate integers with 0≤Successes≤Trials. Probability must lie in the closed interval 0 through 1. Cumulative=FALSE or 0 returns P(X=k); TRUE or another nonzero numeric value returns P(X≤k). Trials=0 is allowed when Successes=0.

Values below are rounded to twelve decimal places. These eight formulas were also recalculated in Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16 on Linux x86-64, Build 9816 after XLSX import. Saved results agree with the independent references to the checked precision.

Suppose ten independent items each have a defect probability 0.2. =BINOMDIST(2;10;0.2;FALSE()) gives 0.301989888, the probability of exactly two defects. At most two uses TRUE and gives 0.6777995264.

If a decision threshold is “at least three defects,” use =1-BINOMDIST(2;10;0.2;TRUE()), giving 0.3222004736. “More than three” would instead subtract the cumulative value at 3. Put the written event next to the formula so its inclusive or exclusive boundary can be reviewed without guessing.

An inclusive range from 2 through 4 successes has probability =BINOMDIST(4;10;0.2;TRUE())-BINOMDIST(1;10;0.2;TRUE()), which is 0.591396864. The lower subtraction uses one less than the first included count. If the lower boundary is 0, omit that subtraction rather than asking this function to evaluate −1.

The mass formula is COMBIN(n;k)×p^k×(1−p)^(n−k). It supplies an independent check for moderate counts, but manually assembling enormous factorials can overflow before the final probability is formed. A finite list from 0 through n should total 1 within numerical precision. Sampling without replacement from a small finite population generally calls for a hypergeometric model instead of blindly reusing binomial probabilities.

The source handles probability 0 and 1 explicitly. For p=0 all mass is at zero; for p=1 all mass is at n. Zero trials has all mass at zero. Counts outside 0 through n are rejected, including a requested cumulative cutoff above n, even though a mathematical CDF can be extended to 1 there.

=BINOMDIST(2.9;10.9;0.2;FALSE()) uses the floored counts 2 and 10. That coercion can conceal an input mistake. Negative values, out-of-range probabilities and missing arguments require correction rather than automatic substitution. The model’s independence and constant-probability assumptions remain essential.

Observed boundary checks

These additional cases were saved from the same 4.1.16 import session. Error displays are errors even where the ODS numeric attribute is zero.

• Function-specific official evidence
• Pinned evaluator and domain checks

The saved import workbook retained the stated formula identities. A deliberately stale SUM cache became 3 and an uncached SUM became 7, confirming recalculation. The observed scope is the named release and method only; explanatory composite formulas are independently calculated unless specifically listed among the native cases. Other releases, locales and extreme-value limits were not established by these ordinary examples.