So up next, I'll explain each of the arguments - the values inside the parentheses - along with rules for using VLOOKUP. Now look through this range of cells, and in the third column to the right, find the value on the same row.” So what just happened? I told Excel, “Here is a value in the left-hand column of my data.

When I press Enter to tell Excel I am done, you can see I get an error message because I haven't entered a value in cell H2.īut, when I enter a part number, I get a price. In other words, it's the third column over from the part numbers, the data I know.Īnother comma, and I enter FALSE, because that gives me an exact match between part number and price.Īnd don't worry, I'll explain how that works later. This tells VLOOKUP that the values I want to see are in the third column from the left in the range of cells I want to search. Put the lookup value where you want to match. Then we have to enter the details as shown in the picture. We get a new function window showing in the below mention pictures. Also, click on the function icon, then manually write and search the formula. So, I'll enter B3, a colon, and E52, then I'll type another comma.Īnd you need to do that because the functions won't work without the colons and commas. Click on formula tab > lookup & reference > click on vlookup. The part numbers start in cell B3, and if I scroll down, you can see the status values end at cell E52. I'll enter H2 as the first argument, because that is where I'll type the part numbers.įollow that with a comma, and then, I'll enter the range of cells that contains the data I want to search. These parentheses will contain a set of arguments, and an argument is just a piece of data that the function needs in order to run.

To do that, I'll click the cell where I want to see the Prices, I'll enter an = sign, VLOOKUP, and parentheses. So, as an example, I'll enter part numbers, the thing I know, and find out Prices, the thing I don't know. VLOOKUP works a lot like a phone book, where you start with the piece of data you know, like someone's name, in order to find out what you don't know, like their phone number. When you need to find information in a large spreadsheet, or you are always looking for the same kind of information, use the VLOOKUP function.

Do vlookup in excel