When someone asks me about my favorite function in Excel, my instant answer is VLOOKUP. When you use the VLOOKUP formula, you’ll always feel that you are performing some kind of magic trick. Yes, it is that awesome.
How to use VLOOKUP Function
The VLOOKUP() function has the following syntax:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_number,[range_lookup])
You can learn using the Vlookup function by following these simple steps:
1. As you can see in the image, the list of names also appears in the other part of the sheet (column G) and in our example we want to know the location of E in column H.
2. The first thing that the formula asks is lookup_value. It is generally the thing that you want to look up in your data. It can either be a value or a cell reference. In our case, we want to know the location of E and therefore we shall input its cell reference that is G2.
3. The next thing that the formula asks is table_array. Table_array is the place where our value resides. In our case the value is somewhere between A1to B6 so that becomes our table_array.
4. The next thing is adding the col_index_num. It is the column number where our value is situated. In our case we have selected two columns that is A and B. So Column A shall become 1 and Column B shall become column 2. Since the locations are mentioned in column 2 (column B), we shall input 2 as col_index_num.
5. The next in the formula is range_lookup. This determines that whether you are looking for an exact match (False) or an approximate one (true). This is optional and in our case we shall use False as we are searching for an exact value.
6. Press enter and you shall get your answer.
7. Instead of using the formula again and again to get the results in column H, you can easily drag or double click on cell’s auto fill handle. But while doing this you should lock the cells of table array otherwise this function may not work.
8. Now you can drag or double click the auto fill handle and you shall notice that all the values have been filled.
If you have any doubts or questions then the comment box is right below, so shoot your queries and we shall reply as soon as possible.
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