krotcre.blogg.se - How to use vlookup in excel to find names

Using the IFNA function, the spreadsheet alerts that there is no match by filling the cells with the text “No Product”. We used the lookup value of 1478 which is not in the first column of our table (SKU). By default, the function returns NA if no match is found. To increase the reliability of the VLOOKUP function, it can be combined with the IFNA function to return a message indicating the lookup value does not return anything. As has been said, if using the approximate range_lookup function, erroneous results may result. The SKU values are very similar in number sequence. The range_lookup value in this example is set to FALSE to find the exact match. VLOOKUP is used to retrieve the product name of “Paper” and price of $2.99.Įxploring the formulas in use it can be seen that the VLOOKUP formula is used in the Product and Cost result cells. In the above example, the SKU Query value is set at 14784. Note the color legend, the only value input is the SKU Query, the results are the product and cost. VLOOKUP will be used to look up the product name and price by the SKU value. In this example, there is a table of products with the product name and price of each SKU. Use the TRIM or CLEAN functions to fix whitespace problems. Common erroneous characters are straight quotes ( ` ) or other non-printing characters. If your first column uses text as the matching characters, make sure there are no erroneous characters or whitespace. Do this when you want to search for the actual * and ? characters. To escape the matching function of the * and ?, escape the search character with a ~. The wildcards are * for multiple characters and ? matches a single character. Wildcard characters can be used when using the exact match option (range_lookup=False). This is because VLOOKUP will match the first cell that is approximately the lookup_value. Avoid matching on text values when possible.Īlways sort the first column of the table_array when using the approximate match (range_lookup = True). This will prevent matching errors, especially when using approximate matching. This is particularly relevant to the first column of cells in the table_array. If you are using a date, make sure it is formatted as a date. This will permit fill-down of formulas that reference back to the original table selection. It is recommended that the look up column be the very left column so the function can access all other related cells.Īlways use absolute references with the table_array and possibly the lookup_value.

VLOOKUP only looks to the right of the look up column. Is there anything else I need to know about the VLOOKUP function – True: Approximate match to the lookup value, False: Exact match to the lookup value. Table_array – The vertical table area where related data is organized by row.Ĭolumn_index_num – How many column away is the related value of interest. Lookup_value – The value that will be look up or searched for. =VLOOKUP (lookup_value, table_array, column_index_num, ) What values will the VLOOKUP function require How do I type the VLOOKUP function into Excel

A location for the output of the lookup must me known.

The result value column distance from the lookup value must be determined.

The table must be vertical with all data organized by row.

The user must have a lookup value associated with other information in a table.

The only requirement is the data must be structured vertically and the associated value needs to be stored to the right and in the same row as the lookup or key value. Other uses for VLOOKUP could be finding a students name by their student ID number or finding a birthday by using a name. Using the VLOOKUP function, you can input your known value, in this case SKU, and the function will return any associated information found in the same row as the SKU. Suppose you manage store inventory and you have the SKU value for your product but you would like to know the name or price of the SKU you have.

Is is similar to a SQL find function where a key value will be used to extract other information stored in the same record or row. This is often referred to as a ‘key’ value.

Microsoft Excels VLOOKUP function is a search or query function that is able to find information in a table by using a lookup value that can be associated with other values on the same row.