PlanMaker BIN2HEX: Signed 32-Bit Conversion and Examples

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.

=BIN2HEX(Number [, Digits])

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.

Digits is optional. When omitted, PlanMaker determines the required width. It must be greater than zero; fractional Digits are truncated rather than rounded. A positive input whose significant representation is wider than Digits gives #NUM!, as shown in the vendor examples.

For a negative value the 32-bit representation is used and Digits is ignored. The examples use ordinary positive width requests when checking that rule; they do not settle validation precedence for a simultaneously invalid width. Number’s numeric value and Digits’ display requirement remain separate.

Create BaseControls with Source in A1 and Converted in B1, Width_12 in C1. 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 =BIN2HEX(A2) through B7. Fill C2 =BIN2HEX(A2,12) through C7.

In a copy change A3 from 101010 to 101011. B3 becomes 2B, and C3 becomes 00000000002B. Row 4 remains a separate leading-zero control for the original 42.

The source gives =BIN2HEX("101010") as 2A and the same result for "00101010". Grouping 101010 from the right as 0010 and 1010 yields hexadecimal digits 2 and A. The leading zeroes do not add value.

The documented 32-bit negative input 11111111111111111111111111010110 converts to FFFFFFD6. Both representations encode signed −42 under this function’s contract. Eight hexadecimal digits cover 32 bits, because each hex digit represents four bits.

The output is not the ten-character negative representation used by some other spreadsheet products. Keep PlanMaker’s documented 32-bit rule attached to the example rather than treating identical function names as interchangeable.

Create FlagsToHex. Put text 10100101 in F2 and enter G2 =BIN2HEX(F2,2). The expected display is A5. The left four bits 1010 have value ten, written A; the right four bits 0101 have value five.

On a copy change F2 to 10100100. G2 becomes A4. The underlying decimal quantity changed from 165 to 164. Hexadecimal compresses the supplied bit sequence but does not determine the meaning, byte order or numbering of the flags.

For a wider positive control, =BIN2HEX("1111111111") is mathematically 3FF, representing 1023. It is positive under the 32-bit sign convention. A three-place width holds it; a two-place width cannot. This distinguishes the encoding width from a receiver’s formatting requirement.

Decode the signed negative hex result with =HEX2DEC("FFFFFFD6"); the matching PlanMaker contract gives −42. Interpreting the same characters as an ordinary unsigned hexadecimal integer instead gives 4,294,967,254. Neither string alone identifies the external system’s intended signedness.

Preserve the raw binary string and the signedness specification when exchanging data. A visually correct hexadecimal value can still be misinterpreted if the receiving program uses another word size or an unsigned field.

=BIN2HEX("101010",8.9) has independently expected output 0000002A because the documented Digits truncation gives width 8. This is a width example, not evidence for truncating a fractional source Number. Keep an explicit integer width in routine formulas for readability.

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.