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OCT2BIN

The OCT2BIN function is an Engineering function that converts a signed octal number to a signed binary number. The returned binary number is a text string. This function is commonly used in situations where octal numbers are used in computer systems and need to be converted to binary numbers.

Usage

Use the OCT2BIN formula with the syntax shown below, it has 1 required parameter and 1 optional parameter:

=OCT2BIN(signed_octal_number, [significant_digits])
Parameters:
  1. signed_octal_number (required):
    The signed octal number you want to convert to binary. Must be a number in base 8 format.
  2. significant_digits (optional):
    The number of significant digits to use in the binary result. Must be a positive integer.

Examples

Here are a few example use cases that explain how to use the OCT2BIN formula in Google Sheets.

Converting an octal number to binary

You have an octal number that you need to convert to binary. You can use the OCT2BIN function to do this easily.

Converting multiple octal numbers to binary

You have a list of octal numbers that you need to convert to binary. You can use the OCT2BIN function in combination with other functions to achieve this.

Converting a range of octal numbers to binary

You have a range of cells that contain octal numbers that you need to convert to binary. You can use the OCT2BIN function in combination with other functions to achieve this.

Common Mistakes

OCT2BIN not working? Here are some common mistakes people make when using the OCT2BIN Google Sheets Formula:

Incorrect argument type

One common mistake is providing an argument that is not a valid signed octal number or providing too many arguments. Make sure the first argument is a valid signed octal number and there are no more than 2 arguments.

Invalid significant digits

Another mistake is providing a second argument that is not a valid number or is less than 1. The second argument, if provided, must be a positive integer.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to OCT2BIN or are often used with it in a formula:

  • DEC2BIN

    The DEC2BIN formula is used to convert a decimal number to a binary number. This is commonly used in engineering and computer science to represent numbers in their binary form. The formula takes in a decimal number and an optional number of significant digits to include in the binary representation.

  • HEX2BIN

    The HEX2BIN function is an Engineering function that converts a signed hexadecimal number to a signed binary number. It returns a text string and is commonly used in computer science and engineering fields.

  • BIN2OCT

    The BIN2OCT function converts a signed binary number to octal format. It takes one required parameter, signed_binary_number, which is the binary number you want to convert. The optional parameter, significant_digits, is an integer specifying the number of digits you want to include in the result. If you omit this parameter, Google Sheets assumes a default of 10 significant digits.

  • BIN2HEX

    The BIN2HEX function converts a signed binary number to hexadecimal format. This function is commonly used in engineering and scientific fields where binary numbers are used to represent data. The output of this function is a text string in hexadecimal format.

Learn More

You can learn more about the OCT2BIN Google Sheets function on Google Support.