PlanMaker BASE: Convert Numbers to Binary, Hexadecimal and Padded Text
Use PlanMaker BASE with explicit bases, leading zeroes, minimum-width checks and a reversible conversion worksheet.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
=BASE(42,2,8) returns the text 00101010 in PlanMaker’s documented example. BASE converts an ordinary decimal value to another number base. Its optional third argument supplies a minimum width, so leading zeroes can be retained in the resulting text.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: Documented by the PlanMaker 2016 manual; the original introduction release and date are unknown.
- Availability: Documented in PlanMaker 2026. That checked version is not a final supported-version endpoint.
- Scope: Current reference belongs to the PlanMaker 2026/NX manual family. Individual FreeOffice and mobile-build availability are not established here.
- Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official BASE reference and historical manuals. Examples were independently calculated; no native PlanMaker execution was performed.
Syntax and the meaning of Digits
BASE(Number, Base [, Digits])
| Argument | Documented requirement |
|---|---|
| Number | Required value to convert; the current reference permits positive numbers only. |
| Base | Required target base, an integer from 2 through 36. |
| Digits | Optional positive integer specifying the minimum number of places. Omitted: use the required number of places. |
The brackets indicate an optional argument; do not type them. Digits is a minimum width, not a number of decimal places or a maximum length. All worked inputs below are small positive integers. The short entry does not explain what happens to a fractional Number, so these examples do not assume truncation.
SoftMaker explicitly identifies the result as text. The string 00101010 represents decimal 42 in base 2; it is not the ordinary decimal number 101010. Use DECIMAL with the same base when a numeric value is needed again. See the direct BASE reference.
Convert values and check the round trip
On a new worksheet named BaseConversions, put Value, Base, Minimum width, Converted text, Text length, Decimal again and Matches input in A1:G1. Enter only the three numeric input columns below into A2:C8. Keep D:G empty for formulas.
| Row | A | B | C | Expected D | Expected E | Expected F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 42 | 2 | 8 | 00101010 | 8 | 42 |
| 3 | 255 | 2 | 8 | 11111111 | 8 | 255 |
| 4 | 64 | 8 | 4 | 0100 | 4 | 64 |
| 5 | 42 | 10 | 4 | 0042 | 4 | 42 |
| 6 | 36 | 36 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 36 |
| 7 | 256 | 16 | 2 | 100 | 3 | 256 |
| 8 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 0010 | 4 | 16 |
Enter these formulas in row 2, then fill D2:G2 through row 8:
D2: =BASE(A2,B2,C2)
E2: =LEN(D2)
F2: =DECIMAL(D2,B2)
G2: =F2=A2
G is TRUE throughout. Row 7 is the important width control: decimal 256 needs three hexadecimal places, so a minimum of two does not shorten it to two. Row 6 uses the currently documented base-36 range; consult the historical caveat below before applying it to an older release.
To reproduce both official examples without replacing the table, put =BASE(42,2) in I2 and =BASE(42,2,8) in I3. The expected text is 101010 and 00101010. In J2 enter =LEN(I2) and fill to J3: the lengths are 6 and 8. Padding changes the representation, not its numeric value.
Understand the digits independently
Binary 101010 means:
1*32 + 0*16 + 1*8 + 0*4 + 1*2 + 0*1 = 42
The two added zeroes in 00101010 contribute zero at the 128 and 64 positions. Similarly, hexadecimal 100 represents 1*16^2 = 256; octal 100 represents 1*8^2 = 64. The base belongs with the encoded text. The same visible digits can represent different values.
These positional-value calculations independently check the examples; they do not establish PlanMaker’s internal implementation or its maximum exact integer size.
Advanced: enforce an eight-character binary field
A minimum width alone does not enforce a fixed-width export specification. On a separate worksheet BinaryField, enter Decimal value, Encoded, Length and Width check in A1:D1, then put 127, 128, 255, 256 in A2:A5.
B2: =BASE(A2,2,8)
C2: =LEN(B2)
D2: =IF(C2=8,"Fits eight characters","Too wide")
Fill B2:D2 through row 5.
| A | Expected B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 127 | 01111111 | 8 | Fits eight characters |
| 128 | 10000000 | 8 | Fits eight characters |
| 255 | 11111111 | 8 | Fits eight characters |
| 256 | 100000000 | 9 | Too wide |
For these positive integers, 2^8-1 = 255 is the largest value representable in eight binary places. The formula checks this worksheet’s output width; it does not validate arbitrary input types or implement a signed integer encoding. In particular, do not cut off a ninth digit to force a fit: that would change the represented value.
Duplicate BinaryField as ChangedField and change only A5 from 256 to 254. B5 becomes 11111110, C5 becomes 8 and D5 becomes Fits eight characters. The original over-width example remains available for comparison. LEN measures the text, and IF supplies the explicit worksheet policy.
History, compatibility and boundaries
The 2016 manual, pages 455–456 and 2018 manual, page 430 print a base range of 2–32. The checked 2021, 2024 and current 2026 entries print 2–36. This establishes a documentation difference; it does not establish whether or when the implementation changed. Do not assume that bases 33–36 work in every historical release.
SoftMaker’s compatibility note dates Microsoft Excel support to Excel 2013 or later. That is an Excel compatibility statement, not PlanMaker’s introduction date. A shared name also does not certify matching numeric limits or coercion rules.
Use positive integer bases and widths within the stated contract. Zero or negative Number inputs, fractional inputs, very large integers, blank cells, imported text coercion and exact invalid-input error tokens are outside the checked examples. For letter-bearing representations, the exact output letter case is not established by the cited binary examples. Preserve the numeric source and the base alongside exported text so a later import can be checked correctly.
Examples use the English manual’s comma separators. If your formula editor uses another separator, follow its displayed syntax while keeping the argument order and the text values unchanged.