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BITLSHIFT

Category: MS Excel compatibility function · Native since: Excel 2013

Returns a number shifted left by the given number of bits.

Syntax

=BITLSHIFT(number, shift_amount)

Arguments

Argument Required Description
number Required the number to shift (>= 0)
shift_amount Required bits to shift left (negative shifts right)

Returns

Returns the left-shifted value as a scalar number. Returns #NUM! if number is not an integer in [0, 2^48-1], if shift_amount is not an integer or its absolute value exceeds 53, or if the result exceeds 2^53.

Examples

Formula Result Description
=BITLSHIFT(4,2) 16 Shift left by 2 bits
=BITLSHIFT(4,-1) 2 Negative shift goes right

Notes

  • A negative shift_amount shifts right instead.
  • All arguments accept arrays and are computed element-wise, spilling an array of the same shape — scalars are broadcast, a column vector × a row vector expands to their outer product, size-mismatched elements yield #N/A, and an error element returns that error.
  • Related function: BITRSHIFT
  • Supported: Excel 2010+. Registered as BITLSHIFT (drop-in) on hosts without the native function, and as EG.BITLSHIFT on modern Excel that has it.