How to Use the BITOR Function in Excel

When managing data in Excel or Google Sheets, the BITOR function is incredibly useful for performing bitwise OR operations between two numbers. Essentially, it compares the binary representations of two numbers and generates a new number. In this new number, each bit is set if the corresponding bits of the original numbers were set.

Syntax

The syntax for the BITOR function is:

=BITOR(number1, number2)

Parameters:

• number1 – the first number or a reference to the cell containing the first number.
• number2 – the second number or a reference to the cell containing the second number.

Examples

Example 1: Simple BITOR function usage

Consider the following numbers:

Using the BITOR function with the numbers 5 and 3 produces a result of 7, as shown in the table.

Example 2: Using cell references

Assume the number 12 is in cell A1 and the number 7 is in cell B1. You can reference these cells directly:

=BITOR(A1, B1)

This formula outputs the result of the bitwise OR operation on the numbers in cells A1 and B1.

Example 3: Combining BITOR with other functions

The BITOR function can efficiently be combined with other functions. For example, integrating it within an IF statement allows for conditional operations:

=IF(C1<10, BITOR(A1, B1), BITOR(A2, B2))

This formula evaluates the value in cell C1. If it is less than 10, the formula applies the BITOR operation on the numbers in cells A1 and B1; otherwise, it applies it to the numbers in cells A2 and B2.

Explore the potential of the BITOR function in Excel or Google Sheets to enhance your data manipulation and analysis capabilities!

More information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bitor-function-f6ead5c8-5b98-4c9e-9053-8ad5234919b2