The DEC2HEX is an Engineering function that converts a hexadecimal number into a decimal number. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use the DEC2HEX function and also go over some tips and error handling methods.

Supported versions

  • All Excel versions

DEC2HEX Function Syntax

DEC2HEX(number, [places])

Arguments

number The decimal number you want to convert.
[places] Optional. The number of digits. Excel pads the return value with zeros up to the specified number of digits. If omitted, returns the minimum number of characters required.

DEC2HEX Function Example

The DEC2HEX function is actually very easy to use. Since the [places] argument is optional, you can use the function by supplying a decimal number. The DEC2HEX function returns the given number’s decimal equivalent.

=DEC2HEX(10)

Add [places] argument to specify a minimum number of characters necessary for the return hexadecimal value. The function adds as many zeros as necessary to match the required character length. For example, 69630 is equal to 10FFE in hexadecimal base. If the [places] argument is 8, you will get 00010FFE from the formula.

=DEC2HEX(69630,8)

Excel DEC2HEX Function - Places

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Tips

  • If the hexadecimal number contains letters, the return value is considered as a string value, not a number.
  • If the number argument is negative, places is ignored and the DEC2HEX function returns a 10-character (40-bit) hexadecimal number in which the most significant bit is the sign bit. The remaining 39 bits are magnitude bits. Negative numbers are represented using two's-complement notation.
  • You can convert a given hexadecimal number into a decimal with HEX2DEC
  • Other related functions:

Issues

#NUM!

  • If the number is not a valid decimal number, DEC2HEX function returns the #NUM! error value.
  • The number should be between -549,755,813,888 and 549,755,813,887. Otherwise, you will get #NUM!
  • If the result has more digits than the number of specified [places] characters, it returns the #NUM! error value. For example, DEC2HEX(64,1) returns the error value because the result (40) requires two characters.