Convert numbers to different number systems

A number system is a systematic way to represent numbers with symbolic characters and uses a base value to conveniently group numbers in compact form. The most common number system is decimal, which has a base value of 10, and a symbolic character set of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. However, there are other number systems, and they can be more efficient to use for a specific purpose. For example, because computers use Boolean logic to perform calculations and operations, they use the binary number system, which has a base value of 2.

Microsoft Office Excel has several functions that you can use to convert numbers to and from the following number systems:

Number system	Base value	Symbolic character set
Binary	2	0,1
Octal	8	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Decimal	10	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
Hexadecimal	16	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F

Convert a binary number to decimal

To do this task, use the BIN2DEC function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=BIN2DEC(1100100)	Converts binary 1100100 to decimal (100)
=BIN2DEC(1111111111)	Converts binary 1111111111 to decimal (-1)

Convert a binary number to hexadecimal

To do this task, use the BIN2HEX function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=BIN2HEX(11111011, 4)	Converts binary 11111011 to hexadecimal with 4 characters (00FB)
=BIN2HEX(1110)	Converts binary 1110 to hexadecimal (E)
=BIN2HEX(1111111111)	Converts binary 1111111111 to hexadecimal (FFFFFFFFFF)

Convert a binary number to octal

To do this task, use the BIN2OCT function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=BIN2OCT(1001, 3)	Converts binary 1001 to octal with 3 characters (011)
=BIN2OCT(1100100)	Converts binary 1100100 to octal (144)
=BIN2OCT(1111111111)	Converts binary 1111111111 to octal (7777777777)

Converts a decimal number to binary

To do this task, use the DEC2BIN function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=DEC2BIN(9, 4)	Converts decimal 9 to binary with 4 characters (1001)
=DEC2BIN(-100)	Converts decimal -100 to binary (1110011100)

Convert a decimal number to hexadecimal

To do this task, use the DEC2HEX function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=DEC2HEX(100, 4)	Converts decimal 100 to hexadecimal with 4 characters (0064)
=DEC2HEX(-54)	Converts decimal -54 to hexadecimal (FFFFFFFFCA)

Convert a decimal number to octal

To do this task, use the DEC2OCT function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=DEC2OCT(58, 3)	Converts decimal 58 to octal (072)
=DEC2OCT(-100)	Converts decimal to octal (7777777634)

Convert a hexadecimal number to binary

To do this task, use the HEX2BIN function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=HEX2BIN("F", 8)	Converts hexadecimal F to binary, with 8 characters (00001111)
=HEX2BIN("B7")	Converts hexadecimal B7 to binary (10110111)
=HEX2BIN("FFFFFFFFFF")	Converts hexadecimal FFFFFFFFFF to binary (1111111111)

Convert a hexadecimal number to decimal

To do this task, use the HEX2DEC function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=HEX2DEC("A5")	Converts hexadecimal A5 to decimal (165)
=HEX2DEC("FFFFFFFF5B")	Converts hexadecimal FFFFFFFF5B to decimal (-165)
=HEX2DEC("3DA408B9")	Converts hexadecimal 3DA408B9 to decimal (1034160313)

Convert a hexadecimal number to octal

To do this task, use the HEX2OCT function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=HEX2OCT("F", 3)	Converts hexadecimal F to octal with 3 characters (017)
=HEX2OCT("3B4E")	Converts hexadecimal 3B4E to octal (35516)
=HEX2OCT("FFFFFFFF00")	Converts hexadecimal FFFFFFFF00 to octal (7777777400)

Convert an octal number to binary

To do this task, use the OCT2BIN function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=OCT2BIN(3, 3)	Converts octal 3 to binary with 3 characters (011)
=OCT2BIN(7777777000)	Converts octal 7777777000 to binary (1000000000)

Convert an octal number to decimal

To do this task, use the OCT2DEC function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=OCT2DEC(54)	Converts octal 54 to decimal (44)
=OCT2DEC(7777777533)	Converts octal 7777777533 to decimal (-165)

Convert an octal number to hexadecimal

To do this task, use the OCT2HEX function.


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A	B
Formula	Description (Result)
=OCT2HEX(100, 4)	Converts octal number 100 to hexadecimal with 4 characters (0040)
=OCT2HEX(7777777533)	Converts octal number 7777777533 to hexadecimal (FFFFFFFF5B)