How to change the base of the positional numeral system [CALC]?

axocoji · May 31, 2022, 7:34am

How to change the base of the positional numeral system in Calc?

The standard positional numeral system (PNS) has base-10. There is a dec2bin(), dec2oct() and dec2hex functions to change to base-2, base-8 and base-16 PNS. (and their counterfunctions, of course). I’m looking for a function dec2base() or base2dec() which converts to arbitrary base-n PNS.

Because to-date I need a conversion only in a double digit PNS, I set up a formula for converting to base-7:

=CONCATENATE(ROUNDDOWN(A2/7;0);A2-ROUNDDOWN(A2/7;0)*7)

example: 30 in base-10 ten is 42 in base-7. Extending the formula to arbitrary number of positions (digits) is a hassle.

Is there any function or simpler way to convert between bases, please?

mikekaganski · May 31, 2022, 7:58am

For the “to” part, I’d start looking at BASE.

And then look at DECIMAL for the opposite. (Yes, its name is misleading, it just converts text to internal number representation, which isn’t decimal itself - only its display is.)