Summary

XLOOKUP can be used to find values to the left of the lookup value. In the example shown, the formula in H6 is:

=XLOOKUP(H4,E5:E14,B5:B14)

which returns 25, the height in column B for model H in row 12.

Generic formula

=XLOOKUP(value,rng1,rng2)

Explanation 

Whereas VLOOKUP is limited to lookups to the right of the lookup column, XLOOKUP can lookup values to the left natively. This means XLOOKUP can be used instead of INDEX and MATCH to find values to the left in a table or range.

In the example shown, we are looking for the weight associated with Model H in row 12. The formula in H6 is:

=XLOOKUP(H4,E5:E14,B5:B14)
  • The lookup_value comes from cell H4
  • The lookup_array is the range E5:E14, which contains Model
  • The return_array is B5:B14, which contains Weight
  • The match_mode is not provided and defaults to 0 (exact match)
  • The search_mode is not provided and defaults to 1 (first to last)

Lookup multiple values

XLOOKUP can return more than one value at a time from the same matching record. The formula in cell G9 is:

=XLOOKUP(H4,E5:E14,B5:D14)

which returns the Height, Weight, and Price of Model H in an array that spills into the range G9:H9.

The only difference from the formula above is that return_array is entered as a range that contains more than one column, B5:D14.

Dynamic Array Formulas are available in Office 365 only.
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Dave Bruns

Hi - I'm Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.