The data you want to retrieve (result values) can appear in any column to the right. VLOOKUP requires that the table be structured so that lookup values appear in the left-most column. If you have a well structured table, with information arranged vertically, and a column on the left which you can use to match a row, you can probably use VLOOKUP. (For horizontally structured data, see HLOOKUP). The 'V' in VLOOKUP stands for vertical, which means the data in the table must be arranged vertically, with data in rows. VLOOKUP is a function to lookup up and retrieve data in a table. Read below to learn how to manage this challenge, and discover other tips for mastering the Excel VLOOKUP function. Trust me, this is NOT something you want to try to explain to your boss, after she's already sent your spreadsheet to management :) This can cause results that look completely normal, even though they are totally incorrect. One reason is that VLOOKUP has a major design flaw - by default, it assumes you're OK with an approximate match.

When you want to pull information from a table, the Excel VLOOKUP function is a great solution. The ability to dynamically lookup and retrieve information from a table is a game-changer for many users, and you'll find VLOOKUP everywhere.Īnd yet, although VLOOKUP is relatively easy to use, there is plenty that can go wrong.

How to create vlookup in excel 2016