PlanMaker OCT2DEC: Signed 32-Bit Conversion and Examples
OCT2DEC converts octal 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
OCT2DEC converts octal 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
=OCT2DEC(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 octal digits are 0 through 7. 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 =OCT2DEC(A2) through B7.
| Row | A: source | Expected B |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 52 | 42 |
| 4 | 0052 | 42 |
| 5 | 1777 | 1023 |
| 6 | 37777777726 | -42 |
| 7 | 20000000000 | -2147483648 |
In a copy change A3 from 52 to 53. B3 becomes 43. Row 4 remains a separate leading-zero control for the original 42.
Understand the signed octal endpoints
SoftMaker lists encoded endpoints 20000000000 and 17777777777, together with decimal −2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647. These denote signed 32-bit values; they are not an increasing unsigned interval of octal numerals.
Its explicit negative example is =OCT2DEC("37777777726"), returning −42. The unsigned positional value of that octal word is 4,294,967,254. Subtract 2^32 to obtain the signed interpretation. Eleven octal positions are needed for some 32-bit patterns, but that does not create a 33-bit signed domain.
The positive controls =OCT2DEC("52") and =OCT2DEC("0052") both return 42. An octal input may contain only digits 0 through 7. Use quoted text literals or text cells so the original sequence is preserved.
Advanced: measure an octal-coded counter increment
On CounterReadings, put text 17 and 20 in F2:F3 and fill G2 =OCT2DEC(F2) through G3. The expected decimal readings are 15 and 16. H3 =G3-G2 is 1. Subtracting the visible source numerals as decimal numbers would instead produce 3.
For another control, =OCT2DEC("751") is 489, since 7×64+5×8+1=489. Changing the final digit to make 752 gives 490, again one larger. These examples assume a documented octal source and no counter wraparound.
Do not apply OCT2DEC merely because a decimal column happens to contain digits below eight. The source’s format specification, not the appearance of a few records, determines the correct base.
Advanced: keep signed boundary cases visible
The 32-bit endpoint controls decode 17777777777 to 2,147,483,647, 20000000000 to −2,147,483,648, and 37777777777 to −1. Keep the text alongside the converted value when auditing these discontinuities.
If a receiver expects an unsigned counter, a negative value may indicate a signedness mismatch rather than an arithmetic failure. A separate verified conversion policy is needed for that case. The function does not infer the intended word size, counter modulus or measurement units.
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.