VLOOKUP Function in Excel: How to Use it with Examples

VLOOKUP is a function in Excel that allows you to search for a value in a column of data and return a corresponding value from a different column. It stands for 'Vertical Lookup' because it searches vertically down a column.

The syntax for the VLOOKUP function is:

VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

• lookup_value: The value you want to search for.
• table_array: The range of cells that contains the data you want to search in.
• col_index_num: The column number (starting from 1) in the table_array from which you want to return a value.
• range_lookup: Optional. A logical value that specifies whether you want an exact match or an approximate match. It can be either TRUE or FALSE. If omitted, it defaults to TRUE (approximate match).

Here's an example of how to use the VLOOKUP function:

=VLOOKUP(A2, B2:C10, 2, FALSE)

In this example, it searches for the value in cell A2 in the range B2:C10, and if found, returns the corresponding value from the second column (column C). The last argument FALSE ensures an exact match.

VLOOKUP is commonly used for tasks such as finding a customer's name based on their ID, retrieving product prices from a price list, or looking up employee information based on their employee number.