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VLOOKUP
Looks up a value vertically in the first column of a table.
Syntax
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])Step-by-step explanation
- 1Find the lookup value in the first column of the range.
- 2Choose the column number to return.
- 3Use FALSE for exact matches in most business cases.
Common mistakes
Looking up values to the left
Forgetting exact match FALSE
Counting the wrong return column
Example table
A quick scenario to connect the syntax to the result.
| ID-101 | Riya |
| ID-102 | Aman |
Formula
=VLOOKUP("ID-101",A1:B2,2,FALSE)
Result
Riya
Worked example
- 1Locate the lookup value in the left column of the sample data.
- 2Use =VLOOKUP("ID-101",A1:B2,2,FALSE) to search for that value and return the related result.
- 3The returned match should be Riya.
Practice area
Pull the employee name for a given ID.
Match against the syntax block above.