PlanMaker BIN2DEC: Signed 32-Bit Conversion and Examples
BIN2DEC converts binary input to decimal. PlanMaker documents a signed 32-bit domain and two's-complement negative values. The represented quantity and the written numeral are different things; preserve the source and its sign convention when converting.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
BIN2DEC converts binary input to decimal. PlanMaker documents a signed 32-bit domain and two’s-complement negative values. The represented quantity and the written numeral are different things; preserve the source and its sign convention when converting.
Availability and evidence
The PlanMaker 2026 reference, 2024 reference and 2021 reference were retrieved and read on October 15, 2026. These establish documented support in those manual families, not the original introduction or a last-working-version endpoint. Both historical endpoints remain unverified. Specific FreeOffice/mobile editions and every desktop build are outside the checked scope.
No native PlanMaker execution, screenshot or file transfer was performed. The expectations below are independently checked integer encodings consistent with the documentation. English formulas use commas; localized separators and function names require checking in the installed build.
Exact syntax and input domain
=BIN2DEC(Number)
Number is required. The documented signed domain is −2^31 through 2^31−1, or −2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647. The binary/hexadecimal/octal strings for negative values encode the 32-bit two’s-complement word, rather than an ordinary minus-prefixed numeral.
The source numerals in this guide are text. Format their input cells as text before typing them, and quote literals inside formulas. Valid binary digits are 0 and 1. Do not type a long bit pattern as a decimal numeric value: precision loss or automatic formatting can change it before conversion.
There is no output-width argument. The result is the signed decimal quantity, so original leading-zero layout is not retained. Keep the raw text if it is also an identifier or protocol field.
Complete reproducible worksheet
Create BaseControls with Source in A1 and Converted in B1. Set A2:A7 to text and enter the A strings exactly as shown; do not include quotation marks as part of the cell contents. Fill B2 =BIN2DEC(A2) through B7.
| Row | A: source | Expected B |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 101010 | 42 |
| 4 | 00101010 | 42 |
| 5 | 1111111111 | 1023 |
| 6 | 11111111111111111111111111010110 | -42 |
| 7 | 10000000000000000000000000000000 | -2147483648 |
In a copy change A3 from 101010 to 101011. B3 becomes 43. Row 4 remains a separate leading-zero control for the original 42.
Read binary as a signed 32-bit word
The literal =BIN2DEC("101010") returns 42 in the vendor example. Prefixing it with two zeroes, =BIN2DEC("00101010"), leaves that result unchanged. These strings represent 32+8+2, not the ordinary decimal quantity one hundred one thousand ten.
The documented negative control is =BIN2DEC("11111111111111111111111111010110"), which returns −42. As an unsigned bit pattern those 32 bits have value 4,294,967,254. Subtracting 2^32=4,294,967,296 gives the signed result −42. This subtraction explains two’s complement; it is not an instruction to treat every shorter binary string as negative.
A ten-character input "1111111111" represents 1023 under this 32-bit contract. Do not import a ten-bit sign convention from another spreadsheet function with the same name. The sign position belongs to the documented 32-bit word.
Advanced: inspect a byte-sized flag value
On FlagValues, put the text 10100101 in F2 and 10100100 in F3. Fill G2 =BIN2DEC(F2) through G3. Expected G is 165,164. H3 =G2-G3 is 1, because only the least-significant bit changed.
The set-bit weights of the first value are 128,32,4,1. Their sum is 165. This calculation does not reveal which flag means a device status or which end of a protocol field comes first; the source specification must supply those meanings.
Advanced: expose the signed boundary
On a separate sheet use the 31-one string 1111111111111111111111111111111 and the 32-character string 10000000000000000000000000000000. Their signed decimal values are 2,147,483,647 and −2,147,483,648. The second is not a positive increment of the first after signed interpretation.
Keep raw bits beside the converted signed value when reviewing an import. A required unsigned 32-bit quantity above 2,147,483,647 needs a separately verified conversion policy; silently relabeling the signed result would change the data’s meaning.
Errors and verification limits
Respect the documented signed range and source base. The short reference does not give a complete native error/coercion matrix for malformed strings, prefixes, blanks, Boolean values, arrays or fractional Number inputs. No exact error token is invented for those cases. A source with too many bits or an invalid digit is outside the documented contract even when its intended meaning seems obvious.
Before reuse, record the exact PlanMaker build, edition, platform, language and workbook format. Recreate the original cells, inspect whether source text survived entry, and apply each changed-input control separately. Test saving and the receiving application’s interpretation independently; neither follows from a correct mathematical encoding.