VLOOKUP In Advanced Exel

ADVANCED VLOOKUP USES AND FORMULAS

VLOOKUP is a powerful Excel formula that you can use to capture data from a complex database and deliver it where you need it. When used correctly, it can save you a ton of time and make you a more efficient and proficient Excel user. The VLOOKUP syntax is:

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

Argument	Meaning
Lookup_Value	The reference value, which can be a text, a numerical string, or a cell whose value you want to reference.
Table_array	The overall data table. As such, the reference value you are looking up should be in the first column of this table, column 1, so Excel can move to its right and search for the return value.
Col_index_num	The column number where the return value is located. This value starts at 1 and goes up relative to the number of columns in your table.
[Range_lookup]	The fourth value is in brackets because it is not a mandatory argument to make this function work. Brackets in Excel syntax mean that the argument is optional. If you don’t complete this value, Excel autoselects TRUE (or 1), which means that you are not looking for an exact match to your reference value, but an approximation. Using TRUE as the value is not recommended for text returns.

To use VLOOKUP, you’ll need to supply (at a minimum) the first three pieces of information. To input formulas in Excel, you can type them directly into the cells or use the function wizard. It is difficult, however, to write formulas in the wizard and check them as you go (pressing F9). One tip with Excel is to write from the inside out. Since Excel computes the innermost function(s) first, you should understand what each returns before you wrap it into another function.

Example 1. Look up with 2 different criteria

Suppose you have a list of orders and you want to find the Qty. based on 2 criteria - "Customer Name" and "Product". A complicating factor is that each customer ordered multiple products, as you see in the table below:

And then, you can use a simple VLOOKUP formula similar to this:

=VLOOKUP("Jeremy Hill Sweets",$A$5:$C$14,3,FALSE)
or
=VLOOKUP(B1,$A$5:$C$14,3,FALSE)

Where cell B1 contains your concatenated lookup value (lookup_value) and 3 is the number of the column containing the data you want to find (col_index_num).

HOW TO GET ALL OCCURRENCES OF LOOKUP VALUE (DUPLICATES)

As mentioned above, the Excel VLOOKUP function cannot get duplicate instances of the lookup value. To do this, you would need a far more complex array formula consisting of several Excel functions such as INDEX, SMALL and ROW.

For instance, the below formula finds all instances of the value in cell F2 in the lookup range B2:B16, and returns values from column C in the same rows:

{=IFERROR(INDEX($C$2:$C$16, SMALL(IF($F$2=B2:B16, ROW(C2:C16)-1,""), ROW()-3)),"")}

Copy the below formula to several adjacent cells, e.g. cells F4:F8 as demonstrated in the screenshot below. The number of cells where you copy the formula should be equal to or larger than the maximum number of possible duplicate entries. Also, remember to press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to enter an array formula correctly.

If you are curious to know the underlying logic, let's drill down into the formula a bit:

Part 1. IF($F$2=B2:B16,ROW(C2:C16)-1,"")

$F$2=B2:B16 - compares the value in cell F2 with each value in the range B2:B16. If a match is found, ROW(C2:C16)-1 returns the number of the corresponding row (-1 is used to deduct the header row). If the compared values do not match, the IF function returns an empty string.

The result of the IF function is the following array {1, "", 3, "", 5, "", "", "", "", "", "",12, "", "", ""}

Part 2. ROW()-3

In this case, the ROW function acts as an incremental counter. Since the formula is copied into cells F4:F9, we add -3 for the function to return 1 for cell F4 (row 4 minus 3), 2 for cell F5 (row 5 minus 3), etc.

Part 3. SMALL(IF($F$2=$B$2:$B$16,ROW($C$2:$C$16)-1,""),ROW()-3))

The SMALL function returns the k-th smallest value in a data set. In our case, the position (from the smallest) to return is defined by the ROW function (Part 2). So, for cell F4, the function SMALL({array},1) returns the 1st (smallest) element of the array, i.e. 1. For cell F5, it returns the 2nd smallest element of the array, which is 3, and so on.

Part 4. INDEX($C$2:$C$16, SMALL(IF($F$2=$B$2:$B$16, ROW($C$2:$C$16)-1,""), ROW()-3))

The INDEX function simply returns the value of a specified cell in the array C2:C16. For cell F4, INDEX($C$2:$C$16,1) returns "Apples"; for cell F5, INDEX($C$2:$C$16,3) returns "Sweets", etc.

Part 5. IFERROR()

Finally, we wrap the formula in the IFERROR function, because you would hardly want to see N/A error messages in your worksheet when the number of cells where you've copied the formula is greater than the number of duplicate occurrences of the lookup value.