VLOOKUP function in Excel is used to search for a value in the first column of a table or range and return a corresponding value from another column.
Here’s the syntax and an example of how to use VLOOKUP:
**Syntax:**
`=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])`
– `lookup_value`: The value you want to find in the first column of the table or range.
– `table_array`: The range that contains the table where you want to perform the lookup.
– `col_index_num`: The column number from which you want to return a value. It is counted from the leftmost column in the table (1 for the first column, 2 for the second column, and so on).
– `range_lookup`: This is optional. If set to TRUE (or omitted), it finds an approximate match. If set to FALSE, it finds an exact match.
**Example:**
Suppose you have a table of student grades like this:
| Student Name | Score |
|---|---|
| Alice | 85 |
| Bob | 92 |
| Carol | 78 |
| David | 88 |
| Emma | 95 |
You want to find the score of “David.” You can use the VLOOKUP function to do this.
`=VLOOKUP(“David”, A1:B5, 2, FALSE)`
– `lookup_value`: “David” (the name you want to find).
– `table_array`: A1:B5 (the range that contains the table).
– `col_index_num`: 2 (because the score is in the second column).
– `range_lookup`: FALSE (for an exact match).
The VLOOKUP function will search for “David” in the first column (Student Name) and return the corresponding score, which is 88.
The formula would return:
“`
88
“`
This is how you can use the VLOOKUP function to look up data in an Excel table. It’s commonly used for tasks like searching for specific values in a large dataset or performing data validation.
