BASE Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Converts a number to a text string in a chosen base
• Supports bases from 2 to 36
• Supports optional minimum length (pads with leading zeros)
• Useful for encoding, identifiers, and number-system conversions

It is designed to be simple, flexible, and ideal for text-based numeric representation.

BASE(number; radix; [min_length])

Arguments

• number:
  The non-negative integer to convert.

• radix:
  The base (2 to 36).

• min_length: (optional)
  Minimum output length; pads with leading zeros if needed.

Convert to binary

=BASE(10; 2)

Returns "1010".

Convert to hexadecimal

=BASE(255; 16)

Returns "FF".

Convert to octal

=BASE(64; 8)

Returns "100".

Convert to base 36

=BASE(12345; 36)

Returns "9IX".

Pad to minimum length

=BASE(10; 2; 8)

Returns "00001010".

Generate fixed-width binary codes

=BASE(A1; 2; 16)

Create compact alphanumeric IDs

=BASE(A1; 36)

Convert row numbers to base-26 letters (A, B, C…)

=BASE(ROW(); 26)

Create padded hex identifiers

=BASE(A1; 16; 4)

Convert timestamps to base-36 tokens

=BASE(NOW()*86400; 36)

Build structured codes

=CONCAT("ID-"; BASE(A1; 36; 6))

Convert decimal to binary with grouping

=TEXTJOIN(" "; TRUE; MID(BASE(A1; 2; 16); {1;5;9;13}; 4))

Generate bitmasks

=BASE(2^A1; 2)

Convert to base-N and uppercase

=UPPER(BASE(A1; B1))

number must be non-negative

Negative numbers → Err:502.

radix must be between 2 and 36

=BASE(10; 1) → Err:502  
=BASE(10; 37) → Err:502

min_length < output length → ignored

min_length < 0 → Err:502

Output is always text

=TYPE(BASE(10; 2)) → 2 (text)

BASE does not accept fractional numbers

=BASE(3.14; 2) → Err:502

BASE of an error propagates the error

Letters A–Z represent digits 10–35

BASE is case-insensitive but outputs uppercase

• Use BASE for compact identifiers and encodings
• Use min_length for fixed-width formatting
• Use BASE with TEXTJOIN for grouped binary/hex output
• Use BASE with ROW() or RAND() for unique tokens
• Use BASE for cross-system numeric representation
• Use BASE with UPPER/LOWER for stylistic control

• Use DEC2BIN, DEC2HEX, DEC2OCT for specialized conversions
• Use ROMAN and ARABIC for numeral-system conversion
• Use TEXT for formatting numbers as text
• Use REPT for padding
• Use UNICODE and UNICHAR for character-level encoding

By mastering BASE and its companion functions, you can build powerful, structured, and encoding-aware text workflows in LibreOffice Calc.