ASINH in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026: inverse hyperbolic sine explained

ASINH reverses hyperbolic sine. Mathematically, asinh(x) = ln(x + sqrt(x^2 + 1)) (with a stable implementation needed for some extreme inputs). Its domain is all finite real values, including negatives and zero; it preserves the sign (ASINH(-x)=-ASINH(x)) and increases monotonically. At small magnitudes it behaves almost linearly, while at large magnitudes its growth resembles a logarithm. This makes it useful for signed-scale transformations, inverting models defined using SINH, and certain statistical feature engineering applications. The domain and identities here are mathematical properties; vendor documentation establishes that PlanMaker has an ASINH function but does not publish every numeric runtime edge case.

Do not confuse ASINH with ASIN, the ordinary inverse sine restricted to inputs between -1 and +1. Negative values such as -5 are valid mathematical inputs for ASINH. PlanMaker documents the companion SINH function and defines ASINH as its inverse. These official pages were checked 2026-10-13.

=ASINH(Number)

There is no second argument and no optional base, unit or mode setting. The function name is ASINH, not ASIN. Enter the leading equals sign = when typing the function in a worksheet cell—this is expressly required by PlanMaker’s formula entry instructions. With one argument, there is no comma-versus-semicolon separator issue in these direct examples. The English documentation writes decimal literals with a point (0.5); actual decimal-symbol entry, localized names, text-to-number conversion and pasted formula syntax may vary with installation locale and were not natively tested. 2026 function syntax; checked 2026-10-13.

Open a new worksheet. Type the values below into A2:A9, one per row. In B2, enter =ASINH(A2) and copy it down through B9. Format B2:B9 to show nine decimal places. Expected mathematical values were computed independently using Python’s math.asinh; the formulas themselves have not been run in PlanMaker or Excel.

To check the sign pattern, compare rows 4 and 6 (-0.5 and +0.5): outputs have equal magnitude with opposite sign. Row 5 demonstrates that ASINH(0) equals zero mathematically. Row 9 shows why ASINH may be useful for data compression: input 10 maps to roughly 2.998. Increasing displayed decimals changes presentation, not the formula. Official PlanMaker ASINH gives the independently corroborating example of input 1.1.

Cross-check the manufacturer’s inverse-function example

Enter =ASINH(SINH(0.1234)) in an otherwise empty cell. SoftMaker explicitly documents the rounded result 0.1234. You may also place any of A2:A9 in =SINH(ASINH(A2)); its expected value is the original A2 mathematically, with ordinary floating-point tolerance. The SINH reference and ASINH reference support the relationship. These are instructions to reproduce a documented example, not a claim that the reproduction was performed on a live PlanMaker installation.

1. Invert a signed hyperbolic measurement model

An illustrative measurement relation may have the form y = a*SINH(t/a) with positive scale a. Solve for the parameter t as t = a*ASINH(y/a). Put scale 5 in D2, observed signed measurement 7.5 in E2, then enter:

=D2*ASINH(E2/D2)

The independently calculated result is 5.973816086 in the same units as a. Change E2 to -7.5 and the expected output is -5.973816086. The formula requires a positive nonzero scale. The model is educational: it does not certify an engineering, medical or financial application. Documentation establishes PlanMaker’s ASINH and SINH functions, while the inverse relation is mathematical reasoning. SoftMaker ASINH.

2. Compress extreme signed deviations without discarding sign

Suppose A2 contains a deviation from a benchmark, and B2 contains a positive scale (choose 10). Enter:

=ASINH(A2/B2)

For A2=100, B2=10, the expected result is 2.998222950. For A2=-100, it is -2.998222950, and for A2=0, it is zero. This is not the same as taking LN(A2): PlanMaker’s LN documentation expressly requires positive arguments, while ASINH’s real mathematical domain admits negative observations. Use this transform only when the downstream statistical interpretation is justified, and retain the original data.

3. Check a logarithmic identity at moderate magnitudes

With A2=3, compare =ASINH(A2) and the mathematically equivalent expression:

=LN(A2+(A2^2+1)^0.5)

Both are independently expected to yield 1.818446459. The check combines the officially documented LN and ASINH functions with arithmetic operators; it is not proof of PlanMaker’s native numerical precision. For large negative inputs, naive LN(x+sqrt(x^2+1)) can lose significant digits because the two terms nearly cancel. Prefer the built-in ASINH for routine worksheet work; no exact failure threshold for PlanMaker was measured.

4. Undo a hyperbolic sine after a numeric input adjustment

Set A2=-2 and B2=0.5, and enter =ASINH(SINH(A2+B2)). The independent mathematical expectation is -1.5. This checks a composition, not merely a copied constant. Avoid checking for exact equality in the least significant digits after multiple floating-point operations. Put the composed ASINH formula in C2. For a residual check, enter =ABS(C2+1.5) in D2; the result should be very small, with ABS officially documented. This example uses English syntax with unary built-ins only.

5. Interpret a different transform before switching functions

With A2=0.5, =ASINH(A2) is approximately 0.481211825, while =ASIN(A2) answers an ordinary trigonometric problem. ASINH returns a dimensionless hyperbolic parameter; treating it as an angle or converting it to degrees without a defined model is misleading. The manufacturer identifies the function specifically as inverse hyperbolic sine in 2026 and 2024 documentation.

Not tested: PlanMaker’s exact coercion of numeric strings, handling of nonfinite inputs, overflow cutoffs, edition-specific disabled functions, error messages for every combination, and import/export round trips. PlanMaker 2024 error values classify common errors generally; no native error was deliberately triggered here.

A documented function in two spreadsheet products is not evidence of successful workbook round-tripping. The comparisons above separate vendor manuals; the expected worksheet values were computed using an independent mathematical library. Names and underlying mathematical definitions are similar, but the applications’ formula parsers, precision, errors and version availability have not been experimentally compared.

• SINH (hyperbolic sine): direct function inverted by ASINH.
• COSH (hyperbolic cosine): a distinct even hyperbolic function; contrast with SINH.
• ACOSH (inverse hyperbolic cosine): works only with real input ≥1 in the mathematical principal branch.
• LN (natural logarithm): appears in a mathematical identity for ASINH; has a different domain.
• EXP (exponential): underlying exponential relationships.
• ABS (absolute value): helpful for measuring residuals after inverse checks.
• Official PlanMaker error-value guide: reference for error categories rather than untested observations.

All destination pages above were individually checked for correct function names and destinations 2026-10-13.