DEC2BIN

What does the DEC2BIN 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.

DEC2BIN function 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

DEC2BIN formula 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: "1111110110" — 10 bits in two’s complement

DEC2BIN features and limitations

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