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VLOOKUP stands for ‘Vertical Lookup.’ It is a search function of Excel used to look up values in a data range. The value gets highlighted in all the table columns in the same row. The user can obtain an Exact or even an Approximate value using VLOOKUP.
Following are the steps for performing the VLOOKUP function In Excel:
STEP1: Placing the formula
Before starting with VLOOKUP, we must dedicate a cell to our VLOOKUP formula. This is required so that our formula is consistent with the rest of our calculations. We need to highlight the cell where we are placing our VLOOKUP formula.
STEP2: Establishing the Syntax
Now that we have dedicated a cell to store our formula, we can begin with the syntax. There are four inputs we must mention.
1. Lookup_value- the value we want to find
2. Table_Array- Our data Range
3. Col_index_num- What we want to know
4. [range_lookup]- Exact or Approximate value
All the input values should be separated by a comma, just like in any other function.
The syntax is as follows:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
STEP3: Selecting the Data Range
This step specifies where we want to look at the value. Here, we give Excel a command to search our value in the selected range. We can perform this as follows:
Type (or Select) the entire range. For example, if the range lies between A1 to C3. So, we can write it like [$A$1:$C$30].
STEP4: Selecting the columns
After specifying the data range, the next step is to mention the columns we want to search. The input col_index_num does this function. We must keep in mind that the columns mentioned must lie under the data range we selected in the previous step, as it would not be considering any column outside of it.
STEP5: Exact or Approximate Value
Exact: when we want to obtain the same value as the lookup value. This is used when we want a specific quantity (e.g., 10,20,30) as an answer.
Approximate: usually used when there are intervals present (e.g., 10-20,20-30,30-40). This feature comes in handy when there are spelling errors in our file.
Type 0 or FALSE to find the approximate values or 1 or TRUE for exact values.
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