BITXOR Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Performs bitwise XOR on two integers
• Sets each bit to 1 only if the inputs differ at that position
• Useful for toggling bits, detecting differences, and binary encoding

BITXOR(number1; number2)

Arguments

• number1:
  First non‑negative integer.

• number2:
  Second non‑negative integer.

Simple bitwise XOR

=BITXOR(6; 3)
→ 5

Because:

• 6 = 110₂
• 3 = 011₂
• XOR = 101₂ = 5

Using cell references

=BITXOR(A1; B1)

Toggle a flag

=BITXOR(A1; FLAG)

Detect which bits differ

=DEC2BIN(BITXOR(A1; A2); 10)

Toggle multiple flags at once

=BITXOR(A1; BITOR(4; 8))

XOR with a shifted mask

=BITXOR(A1; BITLSHIFT(1; 5))

Use with BASE for arbitrary‑width binary

=BASE(BITXOR(A1; A2); 2; 16)

Clear a bit using XOR with AND

=BITAND(A1; BITXOR(2^bit; -1))

Compute parity (odd/even number of 1‑bits)

=MOD(LEN(SUBSTITUTE(DEC2BIN(A1); "0"; "")); 2)

BITXOR returns a non‑negative integer

Accepts:

• Integers ≥ 0
• Fractional inputs are truncated

Behavior details

• XOR outputs 1 only when bits differ
• XOR with 0 → returns the original number
• XOR with itself → returns 0
• Negative numbers are not allowed
• Very large values may overflow internal bit width

Invalid input → Err:502

BITXOR of an error → error propagates

• Use BITXOR to toggle flags or detect differences
• Use BITAND for masking and BITOR for combining flags
• Use DEC2BIN or BASE for debugging binary states
• Validate inputs to avoid Err:502
• Use XOR for parity checks and change detection

• Use BITAND for masking
• Use BITOR for combining flags
• Use BITLSHIFT and BITRSHIFT for shifting
• Use DEC2BIN and BIN2DEC for conversions
• Use BASE for arbitrary‑length binary workflows

By mastering BITXOR and its companion functions, you can build powerful bitwise and binary‑processing workflows in LibreOffice Calc.