VLOOKUP is a powerful formula in Excel that allows you to look up data from a table based on a specific value. In this article, we will explore how to use VLOOKUP in Excel with two spreadsheets, enabling you to seamlessly retrieve data from multiple sources.
To begin, you will need to create two separate spreadsheets. In the first spreadsheet (let’s call it “Data”), enter the data that you want to look up. This data should be organized in a tabular format, with columns representing different categories and rows representing individual records. In the second spreadsheet (let’s call it “Lookup”), enter the values that you want to use for the lookup. These values can be anything, such as customer names, product codes, or invoice numbers.
Once you have created your two spreadsheets, you can use the VLOOKUP function to retrieve data from the “Data” spreadsheet based on the values in the “Lookup” spreadsheet. The syntax of the VLOOKUP function is as follows: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]).
Selecting the Lookup Value
The lookup value is the value in your primary spreadsheet that you want to use to search for matching values in your secondary spreadsheet. This value can be any cell reference or range of cells, and it must be of the same data type as the column you’re searching in your secondary spreadsheet.
**For example:** If you’re using VLOOKUP to find the price of a product based on its product code, your lookup value would be the product code cell in your primary spreadsheet.
Here are some important considerations when selecting your lookup value:
Considerations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1. | **Consistency:** The lookup value must be consistent across both spreadsheets. If the lookup value is not consistent, VLOOKUP will not be able to find the matching values. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2. | **Uniqueness:** If possible, the lookup value should be unique. This will ensure that VLOOKUP returns the correct matching value. If the lookup value is not unique, VLOOKUP may return multiple matching values, which can be confusing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3. | **Data Type:** The lookup value must be of the same data type as the column you’re searching in your secondary spreadsheet. If the data types do not match, VLOOKUP will not be able to find the matching values.
Entering the VLOOKUP FormulaTo enter the VLOOKUP formula, follow these steps: 1. Select the cell where you want the result to appear. 6. Optional: Replace [range_lookup] with FALSE for an exact match or TRUE for an approximate match. If omitted, TRUE is assumed. ExampleSuppose you have a table of employee data in the range A1:D5:
To find John Smith’s salary, you would enter the following formula in an empty cell:
This formula would return the value “$50,000”, which is John Smith’s salary. Using CHOOSE for Conditional VLOOKUPThe CHOOSE function can be used to perform a conditional VLOOKUP by specifying a range of lookup values and a corresponding range of results. The syntax of the CHOOSE function is as follows: “` where:
To use CHOOSE for conditional VLOOKUP, follow these steps: 1. Create a table of lookup values and corresponding results. 2. In a separate cell, enter the index number of the value you want to return. 3. Use the CHOOSE function to return the value corresponding to the index number. For example, the following formula returns the “Apple” value from the table in step 1: “` You can also use the CHOOSE function to perform multiple VLOOKUPs simultaneously. For example, the following formula returns the values from the “Apple” and “Orange” rows of the table in step 1: “` Advanced VLOOKUP Techniques10. Using VLOOKUP with Multiple CriteriaVLOOKUP can be used with multiple criteria to find matches across multiple columns. To do this, create an array formula using the INDEX and MATCH functions. Here’s the syntax: “` For example, to find the sales for a specific product and region, you would use the following formula: “` Considerations when using VLOOKUP with multiple criteria:– Ensure that the criteria ranges are sorted in ascending order. How To Do Vlookup In Excel With Two SpreadsheetsVLOOKUP is a powerful Excel function that allows you to look up data in a table based on a specified value. It can be used to retrieve data from a single spreadsheet or from multiple spreadsheets. When using VLOOKUP with two spreadsheets, there are a few additional steps that you need to take to ensure that the function works correctly. First, you need to make sure that the data in both spreadsheets is in the same format. This means that the columns should be in the same order and the data types should be the same. If the data is not in the same format, VLOOKUP will not be able to find the correct values. Once you have ensured that the data is in the same format, you can use the following steps to perform a VLOOKUP with two spreadsheets:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]) For example, the following formula would look up the value in cell A2 of the spreadsheet named “Sheet1” in the table_array that is defined by the range A1:D10 in the spreadsheet named “Sheet2”: =VLOOKUP(A2, [Sheet2]!$A$1:$D$10, 2, FALSE) People Also AskHow do I link two spreadsheets in Excel using VLOOKUP?To link two spreadsheets in Excel using VLOOKUP, you can use the following steps:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]) Can I use VLOOKUP to look up data in a closed workbook?Yes, you can use VLOOKUP to look up data in a closed workbook. To do this, you need to use the following syntax: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, ‘[workbook_name.xlsx]sheet_name’!table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]) For example, the following formula would look up the value in cell A2 of the spreadsheet named “Sheet1” in the closed workbook named “Book1.xlsx”: =VLOOKUP(A2, ‘[Book1.xlsx]Sheet1’!$A$1:$D$10, 2, FALSE) |