Excel BASE Function

The BASE function converts a number into a given radix or base and returns a text representation of the calculated value.

Syntax

=BASE (number, radix, [min_length])

Arguments

Return value

The Base function returns the text representation of the converted number.

Function notes

1. BASE function will return the #VALUE! error if any of the supplied arguments are non-numeric.
2. BASE function will return the #NUM! error if:
   • number<0 or number>2^53
   • radix<2 or radix>36
   • min_length<0 or min_length>255
3. If any of the supplied arguments are non-integer numbers, the BASE function will truncate them to integers.
4. If the result is shorter than the specified length of Min_length argument, it will be padded with zeros.
5. Results returned from the BASE function are text strings.

Examples

To convert the numbers into a text representation with the given radix (base) in the below table, please copy the formulas below into cell C8, D8, E8 and F8 respectively and press the Enter key to get the results.

=BASE (C3, C4)

=BASE (D3, D4)

=BASE (E3, E4, E5)

=BASE (F3, F4, F5)

Notes:

1. We can directly input the values of the arguments in the formula. The four formulas above can be changed to:

   =BASE (10, 2)

   =BASE (12, 6)

   =BASE (29, 3, 6)

   =BASE (60, 8, 4)

2. The min_length argument is optional. Choose to supply it or not as you wish, like the formulas above.

Relative Functions:

• Excel ARABIC Function
  The Excel ARABIC function is used to convert roman numbers to Arabic numbers.

• Excel ROMANC Function
  The Excel ROMAN function converts an Arabic number to a Roman numeral as text.