DEC2BIN

What does this function do?

This function converts a decimal number to its binary equivalent.

It can only work with decimal numbers from -512 to 511.

The result can be padded with leading zeros using the second parameter.

Syntax

=DEC2BIN(decimal_number, [places])

Places – optional parameter. Ignored for negative numbers (they always have 10 digits).

• decimal_number — required. The decimal integer you want to convert to binary
• places — optional. The number of characters to use. If omitted, uses the minimum number necessary

Usage examples

Convert decimal 10 to binary:

=DEC2BIN(10)

Result: “1010”

Convert decimal 5 to binary with 8 characters:

=DEC2BIN(5, 8)

Result: “00000101”

Convert negative decimal number:

=DEC2BIN(-10)

Result: “1111111111110110”

Features

• Negative numbers are represented using two’s complement notation with 10 bits
• The places parameter is ignored for negative numbers
• If places is too small, returns the #NUM! error
• If decimal_number is less than -512 or greater than 511, returns the #NUM! error
• If decimal_number is nonnumeric, returns the #VALUE! error
• If places is nonnumeric, returns the #VALUE! error
• If places is not an integer, it is truncated
• If places is negative, returns the #NUM! error

Other Engineering functions in Excel

BIN2DEC, DELTA, DEC2HEX, GESTEP, CONVERT, HEX2DEC, DEC2OCT, OCT2DEC, BIN2HEX, HEX2BIN

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