How to use the CONVERT function

The CONVERT function converts a number from one measurement system to another. It lets you perform conversions in these categories: weight and mass, distances, time, pressure, force, energy, magnetism, temperature, volume, area, speed, and prefixes.

1. Syntax

CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit)

2. Arguments

number	Required. The number you want to convert from.
from_unit	Required. The unit you want to convert from.
to_unit	Required. The unit you want to convert to.

Weight and mass	From_unit or to_unit
Gram	"g"
Slug	"sg"
Pound mass (avoirdupois)	"lbm"
U (atomic mass unit)	"u"
Ounce mass (avoirdupois)	"ozm"
Grain	"grain"
U.S. (short) hundredweight	"cwt" or "shweight"
Imperial hundredweight	"uk_cwt" or "lcwt" ("hweight")
Stone	"stone"
Ton	"ton"
Imperial ton	"uk_ton" or "LTON" ("brton")

Distance	From_unit or to_unit
Meter	"m"
Statute mile	"mi"
Nautical mile	"Nmi"
Inch	"in"
Foot	"ft"
Yard	"yd"
Angstrom	"ang"
Ell	"ell"
Light-year	"ly"
Parsec	"parsec" or "pc"
Pica (1/72 inch)	"Picapt" or "Pica"
Pica (1/6 inch)	"pica"
U.S survey mile (statute mile)	"survey_mi"

Time	From_unit or to_unit
Year	"yr"
Day	"day" or "d"
Hour	"hr"
Minute	"mn" or "min"
Second	"sec" or "s"

Pressure	From_unit or to_unit
Pascal	"Pa" (or "p")
Atmosphere	"atm" (or "at")
mm of Mercury	"mmHg"
PSI	"psi"
Torr	"Torr"

Force	From_unit or to_unit
Newton	"N"
Dyne	"dyn" (or "dy")
Pound force	"lbf"
Pond	"pond"

Energy	From_unit or to_unit
Joule	"J"
Erg	"e"
Thermodynamic calorie	"c"
IT calorie	"cal"
Electron volt	"eV" (or "ev")
Horsepower-hour	"HPh" (or "hh")
Watt-hour	"Wh" (or "wh")
Foot-pound	"flb"
BTU	"BTU" (or "btu")

Power	From_unit or to_unit
Horsepower	"HP" (or "h")
Pferdestärke	"PS"
Watt	"W" (or "w")

Magnetism	From_unit or to_unit
Tesla	"T"
Gauss	"ga"

Temperature	From_unit or to_unit
Degree Celsius	"C" (or "cel")
Degree Fahrenheit	"F" (or "fah")
Kelvin	"K" (or "kel")
Degrees Rankine	"Rank"
Degrees Réaumur	"Reau"

Volume (or l iquid measure )	From_unit or to_unit
Teaspoon	"tsp"
Modern teaspoon	"tspm"
Tablespoon	"tbs"
Fluid ounce	"oz"
Cup	"cup"
U.S. pint	"pt" (or "us_pt")
U.K. pint	"uk_pt"
Quart	"qt"
Imperial quart (U.K.)	"uk_qt"
Gallon	"gal"
Imperial gallon (U.K.)	"uk_gal"
Liter	"l" or "L" ("lt")
Cubic angstrom	"ang3" or "ang^3"
U.S. oil barrel	"barrel"
U.S. bushel	"bushel"
Cubic feet	"ft3" or "ft^3"
Cubic inch	"in3" or "in^3"
Cubic light-year	"ly3" or "ly^3"
Cubic meter	"m3" or "m^3"
Cubic Mile	"mi3" or "mi^3"
Cubic yard	"yd3" or "yd^3"
Cubic nautical mile	"Nmi3" or "Nmi^3"
Cubic Pica	"Picapt3", "Picapt^3", "Pica3" or "Pica^3"
Gross Registered Ton	"GRT" ("regton")
Measurement ton (freight ton)	"MTON"

Area	From_unit or to_unit
International acre	"uk_acre"
U.S. survey/statute acre	"us_acre"
Square angstrom	"ang2" or “ang^2"
Are	"ar"
Square feet	"ft2" or "ft^2"
Hectare	"ha"
Square inches	"in2" or "in^2"
Square light-year	"ly2" or "ly^2"
Square meters	"m2" or "m^2"
Morgen	"Morgen"
Square miles	"mi2" or "mi^2"
Square nautical miles	"Nmi2" or "Nmi^2"
Square Pica	"Picapt2", "Pica2", "Pica^2" or "Picapt^2"
Square yards	"yd2" or "yd^2"

Information	From_unit or to_unit
Bit	"bit"
Byte	"byte"

Speed	From_unit or to_unit
Admiralty knot	"admkn"
Knot	"kn"
Meters per hour	"m/h" or "m/hr"
Meters per second	"m/s" or "m/sec"
Miles per hour	"mph"

Prefix	Multiplier	Abbreviation
yotta	1E+24	"Y"
zetta	1E+21	"Z"
exa	1E+18	"E"
peta	1E+15	"P"
tera	1000000000000	"T"
giga	1000000000	"G"
mega	1000000	"M"
kilo	1000	"k"
hecto	100	"h"
dekao	10	"da" or "e"
deci	0.1	"d"
centi	0.01	"c"
milli	0.001	"m"
micro	0.000001	"u"
nano	0.000000001	"n"
pico	0.000000000001	"p"
femto	0.000000000000001	"f"
atto	1E-18	"a"
zepto	1E-21	"z"
yocto	1E-24	"y"

Binary Prefix	Prefix Value	Abbreviation	Derived from
yobi	2^80 = 1 208 925 819 614 629 174 706 176	"Yi"	yotta
zebi	2^70 = 1 180 591 620 717 411 303 424	"Zi"	zetta
exbi	2^60 = 1 152 921 504 606 846 976	"Ei"	exa
pebi	2^50 = 1 125 899 906 842 624	"Pi"	peta
tebi	2^40 = 1 099 511 627 776	"Ti"	tera
gibi	2^30 = 1 073 741 824	"Gi"	giga
mebi	2^20 = 1 048 576	"Mi"	mega
kibi	2^10 = 1024	"ki"	kilo

3. Example

Formula in cell E3:

The CONVERT function converts from Celsius to Fahrenheit in cell E3.

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4. Function error

The CONVERT function returns a #N/A error if the unit doesn't exist.

Unit names and prefixes are case-sensitive.

Can the CONVERT Function convert from decimal to binary/hexadecimal/octal?
No, there are dedicated functions for these types of conversions.
DEC2BIN function | DEC2HEX function | DEC2OCT function

Can the CONVERT Function convert from binary to decimal/hexadecimal/octal?
No, there are dedicated functions for these types of conversions.
BIN2DEC function | BIN2HEX function | BIN2OCT function

Can the CONVERT Function convert from hexadecimal to decimal/binary/octal?
No, there are dedicated functions for these types of conversions.
HEX2BIN function | HEX2DEC function | HEX2OCT function

4.1 Troubleshooting the error value

When you encounter an error value in a cell a warning symbol appears, displayed in the image above. Press with mouse on it to see a pop-up menu that lets you get more information about the error.

1. The first line describes the error if you press with left mouse button on it.
2. The second line opens a pane that explains the error in greater detail.
3. The third line takes you to the "Evaluate Formula" tool, a dialog box appears allowing you to examine the formula in greater detail.
4. This line lets you ignore the error value meaning the warning icon disappears, however, the error is still in the cell.
5. The fifth line lets you edit the formula in the Formula bar.
6. The sixth line opens the Excel settings so you can adjust the Error Checking Options.

Here are a few of the most common Excel errors you may encounter.

#NULL error - This error occurs most often if you by mistake use a space character in a formula where it shouldn't be. Excel interprets a space character as an intersection operator. If the ranges don't intersect an #NULL error is returned. The #NULL! error occurs when a formula attempts to calculate the intersection of two ranges that do not actually intersect. This can happen when the wrong range operator is used in the formula, or when the intersection operator (represented by a space character) is used between two ranges that do not overlap. To fix this error double check that the ranges referenced in the formula that use the intersection operator actually have cells in common.

#SPILL error - The #SPILL! error occurs only in version Excel 365 and is caused by a dynamic array being to large, meaning there are cells below and/or to the right that are not empty. This prevents the dynamic array formula expanding into new empty cells.

#DIV/0 error - This error happens if you try to divide a number by 0 (zero) or a value that equates to zero which is not possible mathematically.

#VALUE error - The #VALUE error occurs when a formula has a value that is of the wrong data type. Such as text where a number is expected or when dates are evaluated as text.

#REF error - The #REF error happens when a cell reference is invalid. This can happen if a cell is deleted that is referenced by a formula.

#NAME error - The #NAME error happens if you misspelled a function or a named range.

#NUM error - The #NUM error shows up when you try to use invalid numeric values in formulas, like square root of a negative number.

#N/A error - The #N/A error happens when a value is not available for a formula or found in a given cell range, for example in the VLOOKUP or MATCH functions.

#GETTING_DATA error - The #GETTING_DATA error shows while external sources are loading, this can indicate a delay in fetching the data or that the external source is unavailable right now.

4.2 The formula returns an unexpected value

To understand why a formula returns an unexpected value we need to examine the calculations steps in detail. Luckily, Excel has a tool that is really handy in these situations. Here is how to troubleshoot a formula:

1. Select the cell containing the formula you want to examine in detail.
2. Go to tab “Formulas” on the ribbon.
3. Press with left mouse button on "Evaluate Formula" button. A dialog box appears.
   The formula appears in a white field inside the dialog box. Underlined expressions are calculations being processed in the next step. The italicized expression is the most recent result. The buttons at the bottom of the dialog box allows you to evaluate the formula in smaller calculations which you control.
4. Press with left mouse button on the "Evaluate" button located at the bottom of the dialog box to process the underlined expression.
5. Repeat pressing the "Evaluate" button until you have seen all calculations step by step. This allows you to examine the formula in greater detail and hopefully find the culprit.
6. Press "Close" button to dismiss the dialog box.

There is also another way to debug formulas using the function key F9. F9 is especially useful if you have a feeling that a specific part of the formula is the issue, this makes it faster than the "Evaluate Formula" tool since you don't need to go through all calculations to find the issue..

1. Enter Edit mode: Double-press with left mouse button on the cell or press F2 to enter Edit mode for the formula.
2. Select part of the formula: Highlight the specific part of the formula you want to evaluate. You can select and evaluate any part of the formula that could work as a standalone formula.
3. Press F9: This will calculate and display the result of just that selected portion.
4. Evaluate step-by-step: You can select and evaluate different parts of the formula to see intermediate results.
5. Check for errors: This allows you to pinpoint which part of a complex formula may be causing an error.

The image above shows cell reference C3 converted to hard-coded value using the F9 key. The CONVERT function requires valid units which is not the case in this example. We have found what is wrong with the formula.

Tips!

• View actual values: Selecting a cell reference and pressing F9 will show the actual values in those cells.
• Exit safely: Press Esc to exit Edit mode without changing the formula. Don't press Enter, as that would replace the formula part with the calculated value.
• Full recalculation: Pressing F9 outside of Edit mode will recalculate all formulas in the workbook.

Remember to be careful not to accidentally overwrite parts of your formula when using F9. Always exit with Esc rather than Enter to preserve the original formula. However, if you make a mistake overwriting the formula it is not the end of the world. You can “undo” the action by pressing keyboard shortcut keys CTRL + z or pressing the “Undo” button

4.3 Other errors

Floating-point arithmetic may give inaccurate results in Excel - Article

Floating-point errors are usually very small, often beyond the 15th decimal place, and in most cases don't affect calculations significantly.

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5. Unit conversion tool

I built a unit conversion tool, below is a link the file. It lets you quickly convert a number from a given unit to another given unit using drop down lists. It is a quick and easy way for unit conversions in Excel.

5.1 Here is how the unit conversion tool works

The image above shows the unit conversion tool, it has three cells B3,C3, and D3 containing different drop down lists. The drop down lists in cells C3 and D3 are populated based on the selected category in cell B3.

The drop down list in cell B3 contains these categories: Area, Distance, Energy, Force, Information, Power, Pressure, Speed, Temperature, Time, Volume, Weight and mass.

Cell B6 lets you specify the number you want to convert, cell C3 specifies the unit and cell D3 specifies which unit you want to convert to. The result is calculated in cell C6, the image above demonstrates how to convert from 1 feet to meter. The result is 0.3048 meter. The chosen category in cell B3 is "Distance", cell C3 contains "ft" and cell D3 contains "m".

5.2 Here is how I built it

I copied and pasted all arguments to one table. I copied the header name for each category to column H.

I removed all double quotes and removed everything after "or".  For example, one unit was specified like this: "day" or "d". After removing double quotes and "or ...": day

I then created a formula that extracts unique distinct category names from cell range H3:H128.

Excel 365 formula in cell N3:

The formula also sorts the category names from A to Z, the result is a dynamic array that spills its values to cells below automatically.

I inserted a drop down list to cell B3.

1. Select cell B3.
2. Go to tab "Data" on the ribbon.
3. Press with left mouse button on the "Data Validation" button.
   
4. Press with left mouse button on the "Data Validation...", a dialog box appears.
   
5. Select "List" below "Allow:".
6. Select cell N3 below "Source:", make sure it ends with a hashtag. This makes sure that every value from the Excel 365 dynamic array is included.
7. Press with left mouse button on the "OK" button.

I then created a formula that extracts units based on the selected value in cell B3.

Excel 365 dynamic array formula in cell O3:

This formula extracts the corresponding units to the selected category and sorts them from A to Z.

I then inserted drop down lists to cells C3 and D3, see the steps above on how to configure these drop down lists. The source cells are both O3#.

The last formula is the CONVERT function, it uses the specified values in cells B6, C3, and D3 to perform the conversion.

Formula in cell C6:

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Useful resources

CONVERT Function - Microsoft
Unit converter
Unit conversion

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'CONVERT' function examples

The following article has a formula that contains the CONVERT function.

Functions in 'Engineering' category

The CONVERT function function is one of 42 functions in the 'Engineering' category.

Excel function categories

Excel categories

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