When the user uses the vlookup function for finding specific information in an MS Excel spreadsheet, each matching information is displayed in the same row but in the next column. This function performs a vertical lookup by searching for a value in the first column of a table and returning the value in the same row in the index number position.
What does VLOOKUP stand for?
VLOOKUP is a function to lookup up and retrieve data in a table. The “V” in VLOOKUP stands for vertical, which means the data in the table must be arranged vertically, with data in rows. (For horizontally structured data, see HLOOKUP).
Here is an important list of things to remember about the Excel VLOOKUP Function: When range_lookup is omitted, the VLOOKUP function will allow a non-exact match, but it will use an exact match if one exists. The biggest limitation of the function is that it always looks right.
Excel how to do a vlookup?
Here are the steps:
Click on the cell where the VLOOKUP function needs to be applied i., and e. Cell reference ‘I2’. Enter ‘=VLOOKUP ()’ in the cell. In the parenthesis enter the set of Arguments for the above instance. Enter the Arguments: Argument 1: Enter the Cell reference of the cell at which the value present will be searched for the corresponding value in the lookup table. Argument 2: Choose the lookup table or the table array in which you want VLOOKUP to search for the corresponding value. Argument 3: The third argument would be the column index in the lookup table you want to be searched for the corresponding value.
You could be thinking “How to use VLOOKUP in Excel?”
Vlookup function is used to lookup the value with a reference cell and fetch the value from the selected lookup table array and is quite useful and one of the most widely used excel functions. We can use a table or single column to lookup the value. And all the lookup can be done in a vertical zone or with columns only.
Step 1) Click on the cell where the VLOOKUP function needs to be applied i. , and e. Cell reference ‘I2’. Step 2) Enter ‘=VLOOKUP ()’ in the cell. In the parenthesis enter the set of Arguments for the above instance.
Another frequently asked query is “What can I use instead of VLOOKUP?”.
Instead of using VLOOKUP, use INDEX and MATCH. To perform advanced lookups, you’ll need INDEX and MATCH. Maybe this is one step too far for you at this stage, but it shows you one of the many other powerful formulas Excel has to offer.
You could be thinking “How to have multiple lookup tables in Excel VLOOKUP?”
When using the VLOOKUP function in Excel, you can have multiple lookup tables. You can use the IF function to check whether a condition is met, and return one lookup table if TRUE and another lookup table if FALSE. Create two named ranges: Table1 and Table2.
How do I use the VLOOKUP function to retrieve text?
To use the VLOOKUP function to retrieve information from a table where the key values are numbers stored as text, you can use a formula that concatenates an empty string (“”) to the numeric lookup value, coercing it to text. In the example shown, the formula in H3 is:.
What to do if the VLOOKUP function returns a n/a error?
If the VLOOKUP function cannot find a match, it returns a #N/A error. For example, the VLOOKUP function below cannot find the value 28 in the leftmost column. If you like, you can use the IFNA function to replace the #N/A error with a friendly message.