Using a VLOOKUP Function

Given a list of employees in the range A2:C10. The employees ID numbers are stored in the first column of the range, as shown in the following illustration:

If you know the employee's ID number, you can use the VLOOKUP function to return either the department or the name of that employee. To obtain the name of employee number 38, you can use the formula =VLOOKUP(38, $A$2:$C$10, 3, FALSE). This formula searches for the value 38 in the first column of the range A2:C10, and then returns the value that is contained in the third column of the range and on the same row as the lookup value ("Axel Delgado").

Things to watch out for

  • The lookup value must be in the first column
  • Miscounting column numbers. Start counting at number one from the first column which contains your lookup value. The second column (Department) is number two and so on.
  • Always use absolute references when copying the formula so the data range doesn’t change.
  • Watch for extra spaces or extra characters in the lookup value in the first column.

Vlookup Limitations

  • It only returns the first match it finds, even if there are hundreds of possible matches.
  • It can only return a value in the table array to the right - it can't go left!

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Create VLOOKUP worksheet

Create VLOOKUP inexact worksheet

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