Encode ASCII85

Overview

Encoding reads the `text` as UTF-8 bytes and processes them in groups of four. Each group is treated as an unsigned 32-bit number and written as five base-85 digits, using the characters `!` (33) to `u` (117). A full group of four zero bytes is shortened to the single character `z`. A final group with fewer than four bytes is padded with zeros, and only n+1 characters are kept for n input bytes, so no padding appears in the output.

`format` controls the delimiters. `standard` returns the bare digits; `btoa` wraps them in `<~` and `~>`. On decode with `format=btoa`, input that does not start with `<~` and end with `~>` is rejected with a 400. Whitespace inside an encoded string is ignored, characters outside the `!` to `u` range return an error naming the position, and a final group of a single character is rejected because it cannot hold a byte. The decoded bytes are read back as UTF-8.

`original_length` and `encoded_length` are character counts of the input and output strings. `compression_ratio` is the encoded length divided by the original length, as a percentage with two decimals; for ASCII input it sits near 125%, plus 4 characters when `btoa` delimiters are added. Because it counts characters rather than bytes, non-ASCII input shows a higher ratio. On the Free plan the `format` parameter is ignored, so output is always `standard`, and `format` and `compression_ratio` are returned as null on encode.

Live Test Encode ASCII85 Source →

Formula

One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the next are its inputs, and the field after them says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.

=VERVE("ascii85encoder", A2, "original_text")

=VERVE.CALL("ascii85encoder", A2, "original_text")

A2 holds the text you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.

With literal values

Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.

=VERVE("ascii85encoder", "Hello World", "original_text")

=VERVE.CALL("ascii85encoder", "Hello World", "original_text")

Inputs

Required inputs are positional, in the order below, followed by the field. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after that — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Passing an option

=VERVE("ascii85encoder", A2, "original_text", "action", "encode")

=VERVE.CALL("ascii85encoder", A2, "original_text", "action", "encode")

What lands in your sheet

The field — the argument after the inputs — is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.

Seeing everything at once

Leave the field out and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.

=VERVE("ascii85encoder", A2)

=VERVE.CALL("ascii85encoder", A2)

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the field argument accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.

Filling a whole column

Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 1 credit per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.

=VERVE("ascii85encoder", A2:A100, "original_text")

In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The field is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.

In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.

Either way, column A holds your text values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.

When a cell doesn't fill

A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.

Before the formula works

The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.

1. Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
2. Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
3. Type the formula above into any cell.

Use cases

Data Encoding

Encode binary data for text-based transmission with better compression than Base64

PDF Processing

Handle ASCII85-encoded data in PDF files and PostScript documents

Data Serialization

Serialize binary data for storage in text-based formats like JSON or XML

Compression

Achieve better compression ratios for binary data in text-only protocols

Other ways to use Encode ASCII85

Set up Encode ASCII85 on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

More in Data Conversion: