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In this example, VLOOKUP is configured to look up 1000 invoice numbers in a table that contains 1 million invoices. The catch is that not all of the 1000 invoice numbers exist in the source data. In fact, most of the invoice numbers do not appear in column B. This means we need to...Read more

When VLOOKUP can't find a value in a lookup table, it returns the #N/A error. In this example, the goal is to remove the #N/A error that VLOOKUP returns when it can't find a lookup value. In general, the best way to do this is to use the IFNA function. However, the IFERROR function can also...Read more

In this example, the goal is to calculate the correct grade for each name in column B using the score in column C and the table in F5:G9 as a "key" to assign grades. For convenience only, the range F5:G9 has been named key. This is a classic "...Read more

This example shows how to use the VLOOKUP function to calculate the total shipping cost for an item in one formula, where the cost per kilogram (kg) varies according to weight. This requires an "approximate match" since in most cases the actual...Read more

In this example, the goal is to perform a two-way lookup based on the name in cell H4 and the month in cell H5 with the VLOOKUP function. Inside the VLOOKUP function, the column index argument is normally hard-coded as a static number. However, you can create a dynamic column index...Read more

In this example, the goal is to look up a given income value in a tax table and return the correct tax rate for that income. The tax rate is organized into 5 tiers in the range F5:F9 with the corresponding tax rate in the range G5:G9. For convenience, the range F5:G9 is named ...Read more

Working from the inside out, the IF function in this formula, which is entered as the "table_array" argument in VLOOKUP, runs a logical test on the value in column C "Years", which represents the number of years a salesperson has been with a company. If C5 is less than 2, then table1 is...Read more

In this example, the goal is to use VLOOKUP to find and retrieve price information for a given product stored in an external Excel workbook. The workbook exists in the same directory and the data in the file looks like this:

...Read more

This is a standard "exact match" VLOOKUP formula with one exception: the column index is calculated using the COLUMN function. When the COLUMN function is used without any arguments, it returns a number that corresponds to the current column.

In this case, the first instance of the...Read more

The goal is to look up and retrieve employee information in a table that contains unique id values in the first column. The VLOOKUP function is straightforward to use with data in this format, but you can easily use the XLOOKUP function as well. See below for a detailed explanation of both...Read more

In this example, the goal is create a VLOOKUP formula that will return an empty cell when the lookup result is an empty cell.

When VLOOKUP can't find a value in a lookup table, it returns the #N/A error. You can use the IFNA function or...Read more

In the example shown, we want to look up employee departments and groups using VLOOKUP by matching the first and last name of an employee.

One limitation of VLOOKUP is that it only handles one condition: the lookup_value, which is matched against the first column in the table....Read more

Note: a simpler approach would be to alter the table used by VLOOKUP directly. But this example explains the mechanics of testing and overriding output from VLOOKUP.

This formula is based on a simple grading example explained in...Read more

In this example, the goal is to configure VLOOKUP to perform a lookup in a table where the first column contains numbers entered as text, and the lookup value is a true number. This mismatch between numbers and text will cause VLOOKUP to return an #N/A error.

Typically, the lookup column...Read more

In this example, the goal is to perform a case-sensitive lookup on Color with VLOOKUP. In other words, a lookup value of "RED" must return a different result from a lookup value of "Red". This presents several challenges. First, Excel is not case-sensitive by default...Read more

The hyperlink function allows you to create a working link with a formula. It takes two arguments: link_location and, optionally, friendly_name.

Working from the inside out, VLOOKUP looks up and retrieves a link value from column 2 of the named range "...Read more

In this example, the goal is to retrieve employee information from a table using only a partial match on the last name. In other words, by typing "Aya" into cell H4, the formula should retrieve information about Michael Ayala.

The VLOOKUP function...Read more

The goal in this example is to create a self-contained lookup formula to assign a grade to the score in cell E7, based on the table in B6:C10. However, instead of providing B6:B10 as a reference for the table_array argument, the table is provided as a constant....Read more

One of the VLOOKUP function's key limitations is that it can only look up values to the right. In other words, the column that contains lookup values must sit to the left of the values you want to retrieve with VLOOKUP. There is no way to override this...Read more

The table contains basic order information, with columns for Date, Product, Name, and Amount. The Helper column is used to create a special lookup value, as explained below. The goal is to retrieve the nth matching record in a table for a specific product, which is entered in cell I4. For...Read more

In this example, the goal is to group ages into buckets. One way to do this is to prepare a table with age breakpoints in the first column, and the name of the appropriate group or bucket in the second column. Then use a lookup function to find the right bucket or group for each age. In the...Read more

In this example, we have a table of employee locations like this on Sheet2:

...Read more

In this example, the goal is to calculate the correct commission for both Agent and Broker based on a 3% commission which is split according to the table in G7:I11, which is named split. Notice the amount going to the Agent and Broker changes as the total amount increases, which...Read more

In this example, the goal is to use VLOOKUP to retrieve the price for a given item based on three criteria: name, size, and color, which are entered in H5:H7. For example, for a Blue Medium T-shirt, VLOOKUP should return $16.00.

The VLOOKUP function...Read more

This is a standard VLOOKUP formula. It requires a table with lookup values (in this case, dates) to the left of the values being retrieved.

The lookup value comes from cell E6, which must be a valid date. The table array is the range B6:C11, and the column index is 2, since the amounts...Read more

Introduction

A key limitation of VLOOKUP is it can only look up values to the right. In other words, the column with lookup values must be to the left of the values you want to retrieve with VLOOKUP. As a result, with standard...Read more