Imagine you have information stored across two different tables and you want to bring it together for analysis. Excel’s VLOOKUP() function allows you to merge data from multiple tables or files efficiently. In this section, you will learn how to use VLOOKUP to combine and analyse data seamlessly.
The main purpose of VLOOKUP is to combine two tables based on a shared column. If there is no common column, the tables cannot be truly merged and will only appear side by side.
VLOOKUP requires four key arguments:
- LOOKUP_VALUE: The value you want to search for
- TABLE_ARRAY: The table where the LOOKUP_VALUE will be searched
- COL_INDEX_RETURN: The column number from which to return the value
- RANGE_LOOKUP: Optional; set to FALSE to ensure an exact match
You may also use Named References for tables. This makes formulas easier to read and reduces errors caused by using dollar signs for cell references.
In the next video, you will dive deeper into VLOOKUP and see how it works with practical examples.
Important Tips for Using VLOOKUP
- The value you want to search for must be located in the first column of the target table.
- If you are referencing another Excel file, ensure that the target file is saved in the same directory as your current workbook.
In the next section, we will discuss some common mistakes that people make when using VLOOKUP and how to avoid them.
Let’s explore the three most frequent errors that users make while using VLOOKUP and learn how to avoid them, as explained by Vivek.
Common VLOOKUP Mistakes
From the previous video, the three most frequent mistakes while using VLOOKUP are:
- The lookup column must always be the first column in the target table.
- Errors like #N/A often occur due to missing dollar signs when referencing cells.
- The last argument (RANGE_LOOKUP) should usually be set to FALSE to ensure an exact match.
In the next section, you will learn how to identify the root cause of VLOOKUP errors and the steps to correct them.