TRUNC in SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026: Remove Digits Without Rounding

TRUNC is appropriate when you intentionally want to discard digits. For instance, a measurement 5.779 may need to be shown and used as a numerically truncated 5.77 under a procedure that explicitly requires truncation. The value is different from ROUND(5.779,2), whose mathematical result would be 5.78. A cell formatted to two decimal places may only display 5.78 while retaining 5.779 for subsequent arithmetic; TRUNC explicitly changes the computed number.

Another case is extracting a count of complete containers from a number of pieces. If you have 238 pieces and each container holds 12, the number of completely filled containers is the integer part of 238/12 = 19; ten pieces remain. But do not confuse “complete containers” with “containers required for storage.” The latter is 20 because the final ten pieces still need a container. TRUNC is not a substitute for capacity rounding up.

For time, money, measurement or legal reporting, distinguish a business’s actual rounding policy from this mathematical method. There is no universal tax or cash rule in TRUNC’s description. SoftMaker TRUNC.

=TRUNC(Number [, n])

The brackets in the vendor signature mean the second argument is optional; they are not characters to type. Use =TRUNC(A2) or =TRUNC(A2,2), not =TRUNC(A2,[2]). PlanMaker’s manual explicitly permits negative n. For example, =TRUNC(1234,-2) returns 1200, removing the tens and units digits while retaining the hundreds and thousands. 2026 syntax and examples.

Unsupported assumptions: The short manual entry does not say how a fractional n is coerced, what every error code is for malformed inputs, how extremely large precision requests behave, or how text/blank inputs are interpreted. For a portable worksheet, supply an ordinary numeric first argument and an integer n or omit it; do not invent coercion rules without a native test.

Locale: The cited English manual uses , as a function separator and . as a decimal point. A localized installation may differ. SoftMaker’s formula-entry guide documents the required leading equals sign and the Formula → Function dialog, which you can use to inspect your installed syntax.

Create a new worksheet named TRUNC examples. In A1:F1, type Scenario, Number, Digits n, Formula, Independent expected result, Numeric check. Enter the following numeric values into B2:C14. For the first two cases, leave C2 and C3 blank and type the one-argument formulas indicated; in the other rows, supply the written n value. All negative signs are genuine numeric signs, not text.

Put the expected numerical answers from the last column into E2:E14. In F2, enter =ABS(D2-E2)<0.000000001 and fill to F14. Every row is expected mathematically to return TRUE if the application implements truncation on those inputs as modelled. This is a suggested native test to run, not a report of an already-executed PlanMaker test. Rows 2, 4 and 6 reflect SoftMaker’s printed examples; signed and additional cases come from independent decimal arithmetic. Results very close to zero can have a signed internal representation, so ordinary formatted zero and mathematical zero are compared numerically.

If D2:D14 do not evaluate because your system expects another separator or localized function name, confirm the regional input syntax in the function dialog rather than replacing values with text. A displayed two-decimal result is not by itself evidence that internal numerical value was truncated. SoftMaker number formatting.

Suppose cell H2 holds 238 pieces and H3 holds 12 pieces per carton. In H4, =TRUNC(H2/H3) has the independent expected answer 19 fully packed cartons. The remaining pieces are calculated without another function using =H2-H4*H3 in H5, yielding 10. 19*12 + 10 = 238, so the two outputs reconcile to the original inventory.

If the goal is cartons required to accommodate all items, the answer would instead be 20, so do not apply TRUNC uncritically to replenishment or storage needs. This is a mathematical illustration of why the objective matters. Always confirm H3 is a positive nonzero whole-number pack size; division by zero has not been tested here and would invalidate the model.

Enter H2 = 137 total elapsed minutes. Use =TRUNC(H2/60) in H3 to calculate 2 complete hours. Use =H2-60*H3 in H4 to find 17 remaining minutes. You can verify =60*H3+H4 reproduces 137. For nonnegative total minutes, this is an intuitive way to show hours and leftover minutes. It is not a method for parsing actual spreadsheet time serials, which have their own formatting, timezone and date considerations.

Enter H2 = 5.779 and put =TRUNC(H2,2) in H3. The independent expected numerical result is 5.77. If you use =H2-H3 in H4, the mathematical discarded fraction is 0.009 (floating-point presentation may show a tiny difference). Now change H2 to −5.779: the truncation model yields −5.77, meaning digits were removed toward zero, not rounded farther negative. Before using this in laboratory, financial or quality-control reporting, confirm that truncation, not rounding, is the controlling standard. A software function cannot decide that policy for you.

With H2 = 1234 and H3 = −2, =TRUNC(H2,H3) is documented to yield 1200. This can create hundred-unit bins without rounding the original count upward. An input of 1299 under the same scheme mathematically yields 1200; input −1299 mathematically yields −1200 if truncation proceeds toward zero. This is not the same as conventional ROUND(...,-2), which may choose another hundred. Keep your intended handling of negatives explicit in any audit or reporting procedure.

The negative-number comparison is particularly useful: truncation removes the fractional digits without moving to the next lower integer. Microsoft documents TRUNC(-4.3) = -4 versus INT(-4.3) = -5 for Excel, but the PlanMaker TRUNC entry independently documents truncation; actual signed PlanMaker examples in this guide remain untested mathematical expectations. SoftMaker TRUNC · Microsoft Excel TRUNC.

Floating-point precision and extremely large or small numeric inputs are a separate concern from the basic function definition. Exact decimal examples were independently evaluated using a decimal model, whereas a real spreadsheet may use another internal numeric representation. A tiny difference in a displayed result does not prove a function is wrong. The worksheet’s numeric-check tolerance is instructional, not a comprehensive precision certification.

PlanMaker 2026/NX English manual: SoftMaker describes one required number, an optional digit count, omission returning the integer portion, and negative precision truncating to the left. 2026 reference. This is documentation evidence—not proof of running the function on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android or iOS.

PlanMaker 2024 and 2021 English manuals: Their independently accessible TRUNC pages carry the same documented signature and key examples. These checks establish a documented history of support, not behavioral equivalence for every maintenance release, edition or platform. 2024 · 2021.

Desktop and NX product context: SoftMaker’s Professional 2026 product overview lists Windows, macOS and Linux. The PlanMaker NX page describes a wider device family. Those product descriptions do not prove which mobile version/build accepts identical syntax. All application executions and edition-specific tests remain pending.

Microsoft Excel: Microsoft’s TRUNC function documentation separately specifies TRUNC(number,[num_digits]), optional precision default 0, and a signed example. Those published semantics broadly align with SoftMaker’s manual on the shared documented features. This is documentation-level functional overlap, not proof of formula translation, .xlsx import/export, local-language names, internal precision, or every error outcome in either app.

For authoritative function distinctions, use the official PlanMaker ROUND, PlanMaker TRUNC, and PlanMaker MROUND help pages.

Sources accessed and claims checked on October 13, 2026:

1. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 TRUNC — primary syntax, optional n, omission, negative n, three official examples.
2. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2024 TRUNC — historical syntax and example cross-check.
3. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 TRUNC — earlier documented version, not a runtime test.
4. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 formula entry — initial equals sign and function dialog.
5. SoftMaker PlanMaker 2026 number formats — distinction between displayed precision and numeric calculation.
6. Microsoft Excel TRUNC — independently checked Excel syntax and INT comparison, not native PlanMaker evidence.
7. SoftMaker Professional 2026 and PlanMaker NX — edition/platform context only.

Claim-level trail: TRUNC signature and the three vendor examples → 1–3; negative n → 1–3; worksheet entry and display-only formatting → 4–5; Excel comparison and signed Excel example → 6; desktop/mobile product context → 7. The other numeric results, including negative-input handling, use independently computed decimal mathematics. No native PlanMaker/Excel runs, screenshot creation, spreadsheet import/export was performed.