An instruction to perform a sign operation of a plurality of sign operations configured for the instruction. The instruction is executed, and the executing includes selecting at least a portion of an input operand as a result to be placed in a select location. The selecting is based on a control of the instruction, in which the control indicates a user-defined size of the input operand to be selected as the result. A sign of the result is determined based on a plurality of criteria, including a value of the result, obtained based on the control of the instruction, having a first particular relationship or a second particular relationship with respect to a selected value. The result and the sign are stored in the select location to provide a signed output to be used in processing within the computing environment.