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.
Table of Contents
1. CONVERT Function Syntax
CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit)
2. CONVERT Function 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. CONVERT Function example
Formula in cell E3:
The CONVERT function converts from Celsius to Fahrenheit in cell E3.
4. CONVERT 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
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.
- Select cell B3.
- Go to tab "Data" on the ribbon.
- Press with left mouse button on the "Data Validation" button.
- Press with left mouse button on the "Data Validation...", a dialog box appears.
- Select "List" below "Allow:".
- 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.
- 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:
Useful resources
CONVERT Function - Microsoft
Unit converter
Unit conversion
'CONVERT' function examples
The following article has a formula that contains the CONVERT function.
Table of Contents How to use the BIN2DEC function How to use the BIN2HEX function How to use the BIN2OCT […]
Functions in 'Engineering' category
The CONVERT function function is one of 42 functions in the 'Engineering' category.
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