Comments on: INDEX & MATCH in Excel - better alternative to VLOOKUP

This tutorial demonstrates the key strengths of Excel's INDEX / MATCH function that make it superior to VLOOKUP. You will find a number of formula examples that will help you easily cope with many complex tasks when VLOOKUP fails. Continue reading →

Table of contents

Comments page 8. Total comments: 614

  1. DEAR
    I ENTERED A FORMULA BUT SHOWN IN #

  2. NOW WHAT DO IDO ?

  3. i input the FORMULA OF A6,=INDEX('RM DETAILS'!$J$5:$J$4101,MATCH(1,INDEX(('RM DETAILS'!$F$5:$F$4101='LAST PRICE'!A7)*('RM DETAILS'!$I$5:$I$4101=MAX(IF('RM DETAILS'!$F$5:$F$4101='LAST PRICE'!A7,'RM DETAILS'!$I$5:$I$4101))),0),0)) BUT OUT IS SHOWN #N/A
    NOW WHAT DO I DO ?

  4. This is my first time on any forum...
    I'm trying to create a formula :
    "Spreadsheet 1" is where I'm trying to get my information.
    "Spreadsheet 2" Cell C2, the formula should read, "Refer to Cell A1 "A", look in Spreadsheet 1, and put the values for MON in cell C2, do the same for cell C3 and so forth.

    Spreadsheet 1 contains: Spreadsheet 2:
    A B C A B C
    1 A MON 10 1 A
    2 A TUE 11 2 MON ______
    3 A WED 12 3 TUE ______
    4 B MON 20 4 WED ______
    5 B TUE 21 5 B
    6 B WED 22 6 MON ______
    7 C MON 31 7 TUE ______
    8 C TUE 32 8 WED ______
    9 C WED 33 9 C

  5. I tried copying the table but got the above result.
    But the crux is the first amount is the result from the same sheet and the second amount is result from another sheet.

  6. Hi,

    I did find the Index/Match multiple criteria formula very good however I have an issue in using this formula in different sheets.

    Table 1 = Lookup
    Table 2 = To be populated table

    I have used the formula to check two criteria - a. Employee number and b. Department name.
    The first row in the Lookup table in the relevant filed contains zero and so when I apply the formula the entire field is populated with zero [as in the first row of the Lookup table. I guess that this is because of the fixed reference rule applying.
    Can I have the formula without Fixed reference so that the like data reference will be picked correctly?

    Given below is the sample data table:

    Formula used - {=INDEX(Lookup,MATCH(1,([@[Emp no]]=Lookup[Emp no])*([@Dept]=Lookup[Department]),0),25)}

    Emp no Dept Amount Amount from another
    from same sheet sheet.Repeats first
    value
    1 Governance 38000 38000
    1 Customer Service 27000 38000
    2 IT 40000 38000
    2 Environment Services 35000 38000

    Thanks for the assistance.

  7. Hello

    I am looking for a formula which will find a value first [(say Stock Name) from a table where there are many stocks with day to day turnover values}and then sum or average the corresponding values [day to day turnover for a month]for that particular stock.

    Say for example:
    Stock Name 5/12/17 6/12/17 7//12/17 8/12/17 9/12/17
    ABBANK 20 22 25 15 12
    Brac Bank 35 38 40 80 70

    In another sheet we want to fetch the sum and average values for Brac Bank..
    Please suggest...

    1. Hello,
      For me to understand the problem better, please send me a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. Please don't worry if you have confidential information there, we never disclose the data we get from our customers and delete it as soon as the problem is resolved.
      Please also don't forget to include the link to this comment into your email.
      I'll look into your task and try to help.

  8. I don't usually do this but I have to give you praise for this wonderful example. Thank you so much!

  9. There are 3 shifts, Every shift needs change duty after a Week (Sunday) of the month through 24:00 hrs. as given below detail.

    Date: Friday,01/12/2017
    Shift:A 00:00 TO 08:00 hrs (Night-duty)
    Shift:B 08:00 TO 16:00 hrs (Morning-duty)
    Shift:C 16:00 TO 24:00 hrs (Evening-duty)

    Date: Saturday,02/12/2017
    Shift:A 00:00 TO 08:00 hrs (Night-duty)
    Shift:B 08:00 TO 16:00 hrs (Morning-duty)
    Shift:C 16:00 TO 24:00 hrs (Evening-duty)

    Date: Sunday,03/12/2017
    Shift:A 00:00 TO 08:00 hrs (Night-duty)
    Shift:B 08:00 TO 16:00 hrs (Morning-duty)
    Shift:C 16:00 TO 24:00 hrs (Evening-duty)

    Date: Monday,04/12/2017 (Duty Shift would be Changed)
    Shift:A 16:00 TO 24:00 hrs (Evening-duty)
    Shift:B 00:00 TO 08:00 hrs (Night-duty)
    Shift:C 08:00 TO 16:00 hrs (Morning-duty)

    Please help me that how to set formula in excel that will show me Shifts: A, B or C will perform their duties on given date in 24:00 hrs.

    May kindly please be helped me in this case. in advance I shall be very thankful for him/her.

    1. Hello,

      I'm afraid there's no easy way to solve your task with a formula. Using a VBA macro would be the best option here.

      However, since we do not cover the programming area (VBA-related questions), I can advice you to try and look for the solution in VBA sections on mrexcel.com or excelforum.com.

      Sorry I can't assist you better.

  10. Hello,

    I'm trying to pull information from one sheet to another.
    Basically I have one sheet with the following information

    Distributor_Company Product_Name Price

    Now I want to create a sheet for each Distributor Company that looks at the first sheet and pulls all the Product_name it carries and price

  11. I have created the formula and its working only for each currency tab but i'm unable to create the formula in consolidated file could you please help/advise me for the above.

  12. Curr. Amt in loc.cur. LCurr Eff.ex.rate Formulae Currency Actual Rate Rate +10% Rate -10%
    AUD -21,928.99 SEK 6.4573 IF(AND(L2>$T$2,L2$T$2,L3<$S$2),"YES", "No") AUD/SEK AUD 6.45 7.09 5.80
    EUR -8,905.29 SEK 9.7415 YES CHF/SEK CHF 8.42 9.26 7.57
    EUR -5,668.19 SEK 9.7415 YES CNY/SEK CNY 1.27 1.40 1.14
    EUR -21,310.71 SEK 9.7535 YES DKK/SEK DKK 1.31 1.44 1.18
    GBP -3,030.09 SEK 11.16096 No GBP/SEK GBP 11.03 12.13 9.93
    GBP -11,536.34 SEK 11.11894 No JPY/SEK JPY 0.07 0.08 0.07
    NZD -21,607.94 SEK 5.78294 No NOK/SEK NOK 1.03 1.13 0.93
    NZD -3,559.39 SEK 5.78292 No NZD/SEK NZD 5.81 6.39 5.23
    USD -14,824.97 SEK 8.39942 No USD/SEK USD 8.42 9.26 7.58
    USD -14,824.97 SEK 8.39942 No CZK/SEK CZK 0.38 0.42 0.34

    I have created the formula but for each currency tab but i'm unable to create the formula in consolidated file could you please help/advise me for the above.

    Thanks,
    Chandru

    1. Hello, Chandru,
      For me to understand the problem better, please send me a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. Please don't worry if you have confidential information there, we never disclose the data we get from our customers and delete it as soon as the problem is resolved.
      Please also don't forget to include the link to this comment into your email.
      I'll look into your task and try to help.

  13. Dear Ms. Svetlana

    I need FIRST CHARACTER TO BE NUMERIC(SINGLE DIGIT 1 TO 9) FOLLOWED BY A DASH SYMBOL AND ONLY TEXT CHARACTER FOLLOWED BY IT, AND TOTAL LENGTH TO BE 6, Kindly can you tell me how to use it in data Validation tool in excel 2016

    Product Code Product name
    1-ABZX XXXXXX
    9-BTGH XXXXXX
    8-RCTB
    6-XYXT
    0-ABCD

  14. Hello- This formula doesn't seem to be working for me. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong.
    I have the following problem:
    Sheet 1 contains the following data:

    M N
    Period Room
    2 356
    2 246
    3 310
    6 361
    4 315
    5 313
    7 3
    1 GYM-C
    7 155
    2 201
    5 204
    7 266
    4 3
    6 259
    1 110
    1 364
    3 201
    5 3
    7 110
    7 266
    4 204
    6 1
    2 201
    3 201
    6 155
    1 240
    5 360
    2 201

    Sheet 5 contains the following data:

    A B C
    Room Wave Period
    1 A 5
    3 A 5
    110 B 5
    112 B 5
    114 B 5
    125 A 5
    151 D 5
    154 D 5
    155 D 5
    158 D 5
    160 D 5
    161 D 5
    201 B 5
    202 B 5
    203 B 5
    204 B 5
    205 B 5
    210 B 5
    213 B 5
    217 B 5
    240 C 5
    246 C 5
    254 C 5
    255 C 5
    258 C 5
    259 C 5
    264 C 5
    265 C 5
    266 C 5
    270 C 5
    304 A 5
    310 A 5
    313 A 5
    315 A 5
    351 D 5
    352 D 5
    355 D 5
    356 D 5
    357 A 5
    359 D 5
    360 D 5
    361 A 5
    362 A 5
    366 A 5
    212A B 5
    212B B 5
    Aqua Out A 5
    Gym-B D 5
    HCC A 5
    RCA C 5

    I need a formula that will match columns M & N of Sheet1 with Columns A & C of sheet 5 and return Column B of Sheet 5 in Sheet 1 "IF" Period=5.

  15. Svetlana,
    Thank you so much for your very logical and understandable explanation of the Index and Match function. I had dabbled with it in the past but never really grasped it. Your tutorial made it very clear! I was having problems on a spreadsheet using VLOOKUP where is would not allow me to have more than 2800 rows. I was able to switch to Index/Match and it works perfectly. Thank You!!!!

  16. Hello Svetlana,

    Thanks much for all the instructions on index/match functions.

    I am trying to index an array and find the value in Column B if the value in Column A match a certain text string ignoring all spaces and any characters other than letters or numbers. For example, the text string I am trying to match is K15 but the column A may have K15 shown as K15, K 15, K-15, K_15, or K _ 15 etc. How can I make the index/match functions consider K15, K 15, K-15, K_15 and K _ 15 as the same text string when it does the matching search?

    Thanks much and really hope I can get some help with this question.

    Drew

  17. Dear Svetlana Cheusheva,

    I am a demand planner.

    I have a 3 types of milk but I want raise demand on average consumption on milks, which formula will be apply on this condition.

    Regards,
    Mehmood

  18. Hi - I am wondering for this formula,

    =MATCH($C$78,$A$1:$L$1,0)
    This allows me to return the column # there is a match of the text in C78 in Row 1, from column A to L.

    Is it possible to extend this to an area i.e. multiple rows, vs single row? I want to do 20 rows i.e. $A$1 to $L$20 for example.

    If I want it to return a value I want to translate to for each of the column, how do I specify? Say if it's in column A, it should populate with "Apple", column B with "Orange" etc.

    Thanks a lot in advance!

    1. Hi, Mandy,

      since MATCH works with either column or row, you need to use VBA code or a macro to solve your task.
      But I'm afraid we won't be able to help you with that. Please ask around Mr. Excel forum for it.

      I wish I could help you better.

  19. =IFERROR(INDEX($K$1:$AA$1,MATCH("Z",K3:AA3)),"YTS")
    In the above Index-Match function, I wanted to Index a value from K1:AA1 by Matching and finding the final text value from K3:AA3. But, I want to exclude cells T3:V3. If I use the following, I get result only upto K3:S3. Please suggest a solution.
    =IFERROR(INDEX($K$1:$S$1,MATCH("Z",K3:S3)),INDEX($W$1:$AA$1,MATCH("z",W3:AA3),"YTS"))

  20. Thank you so much for this article.

  21. Is there a way to populate a result in a cell matching two columns, looking for a value in column A and populating the corresponding value from column B? For instance I have column A listing 1-90. In Column B I have a dollar amount. I want to have that dollar amount as the automatic result when the same number from column A is typed in another cell. I hope this makes sense! :-)

  22. Hi,

    I have one doubt in Index match function with multiple criteria. If we have more than one identical values in the main sheet, it will pull the first found value from the lookup table. Is there any solution?

    I have one sheet having Invoice number, amount, Supplier name, Currency. And in the main sheet for different Invoice numbers, same combination of Supplier name, currency and amount is there.

  23. Hello, I am new to Excel and needing to write some formula or vlookup to select the min and the max values of an array like this one:

    1 9/8/2017 20:20 x y 16,015.00 16,017.00
    1 9/8/2017 20:20 x y 16,055.00 16,057.00
    1 9/8/2017 20:20 x y 16,095.00 16,097.00
    1 9/8/2017 20:20 x y 16,135.00 16,137.00
    2 9/9/2017 15:55 x y 15,815.00 15,817.00
    2 9/9/2017 15:55 x y 15,855.00 15,857.00
    2 9/9/2017 15:55 x y 15,895.00 15,897.00
    2 9/9/2017 15:55 x y 15,935.00 15,937.00
    2 9/9/2017 15:55 x y 15,975.00 15,977.00
    3 9/10/2017 1:02 x y 15,615.00 15,617.00
    3 9/10/2017 1:02 x y 15,655.00 15,657.00
    3 9/10/2017 1:02 x y 15,695.00 15,697.00
    3 9/10/2017 1:02 x y 15,735.00 15,737.00
    3 9/10/2017 1:02 x y 15,775.00 15,777.00
    4 9/13/2017 1:26 x y 15,415.00 15,417.00
    4 9/13/2017 1:26 x y 15,455.00 15,457.00
    4 9/13/2017 1:26 x y 15,495.00 15,497.00
    4 9/13/2017 1:26 x y 15,535.00 15,537.00
    4 9/13/2017 1:26 x y 15,575.00 15,577.00

    Would need to extract the 16,015 and the 16,137 for the cells with a 1 on the first column then do repeat the same for column with value 2, 3, 4...
    The values needed to be returned for column with a value of 2 would be 15,815 and 15,977, column with a value of 3 would need to return 15,615 and 15,777......

    Thank you very much in advance

    Ev

  24. I’m having some difficulty figuring out how to utilize Excel’s reference functions to do horizontal and vertical lookups, where the task is to search for a particular value in a specified row, and return the text value in the header of that value’s column. It seems like a combination of Index & Match would be desired, but I can't figure out a workable syntax that doesn't produce errors.

    For example
    Column A contains record ID’s. (e.g. 101-200)
    Columns B-F contain options (e.g. apples, oranges, pears, etc.)
    Cell values contain a 1 for first choice, 2 for second choice, 3 for third choice, blanks for unranked options.

    An example of the desired outcome is to lookup a particular id (which would be identified by cell reference or formula, not a fixed row #), find the value ranked 1 in that row (values will not be ordered), and return the name of the option associated with that rank. For example, lookup record 25, find rank 1, return oranges if oranges is the header of the column containing rank 1 for record 25.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

  25. Hi there,

    I have a question that I am hoping somebody here might be able to provide some insight. So thanks in advance.

    I have a table of values (%'s) as outlined below:
    | Decile 3 | Decile 4 | Decile 5
    Metric X 25.72 - 28.72 28.73 - 30.38 30.39 - 31.52
    Metric Y 18.96 - 24.69 24.70 - 35.23 35.24 - 45.87

    Also, I have data(%'s) as follows:
    Metric X: 100 / 400 = 25.00. Now, based on this score, this results in the 2nd decile, as referenced above. Assuming that I "freeze the denominator", how much would the numerator (100) have to increase in order to reach decile 5? It would be easy to do some simple algebra to calculate that number.

    However, I am trying to come up with an automated way to calculate the number to increase the numerator to achieve a given decile.

    *Please disregard "Metric Y" above, but note that I have many metrics with different decile ranges in this table.

    I appreciate all input.

    Thanks!

    1. **Correction, a 25.00 would result in Decile 1 that is not shown. That is not key, but I wanted to explain since I just caught that mistake.

  26. Hi,

    Really need your help.
    Trying to create an excel spreadsheet that will help with costing for a construction project.

    Column A: Area of task
    Column B: Task
    Column C: Cost code

    I want to match the area and task and for the cell to output the cost code according to the lookup table. I tried to use the formula you have provided above but keep getting "#Value" - what am I doing wrong?

    The values I want to match are part of a drop-down list. Is this my problem?

    1. I think I figured out the problem - needed to press Crtl + Shift + Enter. How come we need to do that for this formula?

  27. Is it possible to find answers that DON'T match? I have a list of people who have completed trainings. I can see which trainings they have completed, but I would like to see which ones they have not. I currently have the list of everyone who has completed certain courses, and I have a list of all required courses. I'd like to have a list of each name and the courses still required to be taken. Any suggestions would be helpful!

  28. Hi there,

    need help plz, am a beginner and trying to create a small template where I will be calculating price of goods plus GST applied. In description column I will write details of goods, now is there a way where I can apply a filter saying lets say description column is B. GST is applied on everything except food items. I have five items to list i.e.tea, coffee, sugar, creamer and Sweetener. so what formula can I try which will say if these 5 items GST will be 0 else it will be E*5%.

    DESC QUANTITY UNIT PRICE SUB TOTAL GST
    PILLOW 4 13 52 2.6
    SUGAR 3 10 30 1.5

    1. Hi,

      I'm sorry, I'm afraid your task is not entirely clear for me. But from what I understand, I believe you may want to check out the following articles that may help you build the formulas:
      COUNTIFS - to count the items.
      IF - to return 0 or multiply by 5% depending on the COUNTIFS result.

      I really hope you'll find those tutorials helpful.

  29. Hi Svetlana, very interesting article. I was looking for how to do it but looking up for a value in a whole 2-dimensional range (matrix) instead of an array. The problem is that MATCH function only works with 1-dimension arrays. Any ideas?

  30. I have an array with column headings I am sorting on. Once I find the right column I need to copy all cells below to another location, where the original formula resides. Tried using INDEX and Match but come up with some crazy results. Can I use Index and Match to do this?

  31. I have learned so much via your numerous invaluable articles. Your info has saved me so much time, especially with the more complex data compilation & analysis. I would gladly pay a subscription for all of this information. Thank you & thank you.

  32. I'd like to take this opportunity to get a result from someone who has amazing skills in excel formula but to make everything simple. I had this little problem and this how it goes. Let say from column A1-A3 there is a duplicated info. Example: TB944009 (this is repeated thrice from A1-A3) Now, I have heavy table from my sheet that will certainly get the exact value that I want. My goal is to capture all infos that is equal from my look up value(Even if its different information). I use vlookup and it works out a bit, because every time I drag down my formulas it says N/A however, when you search it manually on the table you'll find it there. I tried to use $ sign(to limit the searching) for them to find all those information that I need. but it did not worked on my end. I hope that some one will share his/her knowledge so I can do my task easily. Thank you.

  33. Hello:

    After reading through this section there are some very creative solutions here. Unfortunately after a bunch of failed attempts I haven't quite figured out the correct method for solving mine, and request your assistance.

    This problem involves the processing of a transaction log table of stock trade trades (buys and sells). The spreadsheet(s) contains 3 tables (in different sheets) , table 1 contains the transaction log, table 2 contains the symbols of each of the stocks in table 1, and table 3 contains the formulas for summarizing the data for each symbol collected from table 1.

    In table 1 there can be many entries for each stock symbol and although most of the data I needed can be collected using Sumif(s). The ones that I am having a problem with is Min and Max.

    Can you help with the formula for extracting the Min (or Min) values from the P&L column for each stock symbol using the symbols in table 2 please?

    An example of table one is as follows:
    A B C D
    Symbol O_Price C_Price P&L
    1 ABC $10.00 $11.00 $1.00
    2 ABC $11.25 $11.85 $0.60
    3 ABC $12.25 $11.85 ($0.40)
    4 DEF
    5 DEF etc.
    6 DEF
    7 DEF
    8 etc.

    Table 2
    A
    1 ABC
    2 DEF
    etc

    Table 3 is the results table containing the summarized values, 1 row per symbol.

    Thank you,

    Cheech

  34. thnx alot for explanation.

  35. Hi there
    tell me about the formula or function that to help me in tax if the tax little difference it not important
    like the following example
    ADELA 0.5 MCG tab ADELA TAB 0.5 MCG
    ADVANT TAB 16 MG ADVANT TAB 16 MG
    ADVANT 8 MG ADVANT TAB 8 MG

  36. Hi!

    I want to do a simple vlookup as normal. But I have 2 different "sets" I need to vlookup in...

    Example:

    Maine
    Maine
    Maine
    Virginia
    Virginia
    Virginia

    parts:
    x, y & z available at both Maine and Virginia

    I want to vlookup usage of X specifically in Virginia

  37. Hi, I have an Excel workbook contains list of PlayStation players, so we merge them manually, then I want to do automatic check on those players name and check their score who win and it will also based on the first winner (maybe based on the time it was inputted) then the the formula should take the player to next level on the table.... The formula I was using before is if statement (=IF(C6>E6,B6,IF(E6>C6,F6))) so I discovered that some people don't play their game according to how we fix them, please what can I do to achieve this ...... The criteria I want to follow is this***check column c4:c200&e4:e200 the last inputted cell should and check the highest score, it should move the last player if the highest score is from column c or from column e

  38. i would like to know if I will be able tp us e the match and index command to look at two rows one beneath each other to match if a number is the same between the two rows in each cell.

    Once the match is found, can it then copy the two cells from each row to another cell

    Thank you

    Raj

  39. A B C D
    1 Name Date Issue Quantity
    2 Sultan 15-03-16 Book 4
    3 Rehman 16-5-16 Novel 3
    4 Zakir 18-5-16 Pen 18
    5 Sultan 19-5-16 Eraser 14
    6 Zakir 20-5-16 Novel 8

    I want that I just give a name in a cell and it show Complete Record in this sheet as like this.
    Zakir
    Zakir 18-5-16 Pen 18
    Zakir 20-5-16 Novel 8

  40. Wow, amazing articles!

    How did you learn this all?

    1. Thank you, Jenny! Just read a lot, practice a lot, and work with colleagues who know a lot more :)

  41. hie help me on this one, which would I use to rank students using index match. One student is being dropped if they are sharing the same position. for example

    Table 1

    STUDENT NAME MARKS POSITION
    MIKE RICHARD 560 1
    CARLO JONES 555 2
    RUTH TONEY 555 2
    BRIAN JAMES 552 3

    I want the formula to give me results as shown in table 1 above but instead I am having results as indicated below in table 2 with 1 student missing on the list

    Table 2

    STUDENT NAME MARKS POSITION
    MIKE RICHARD 560 1
    CARLO JONES 555 2
    RUTH TONEY 555 2 - (missing on the list)
    BRIAN JAMES 552 3

    which formula should I use to have all students on the list even those sharing the same pos

  42. Hi Svetlana,

    I am trying to create a list of items not shipped out from our facility.

    I have a workbook with 6 pages. Each pages represents one size of cylinders we are shipping. Each cylinder has numbers in numerical order listed down columns on the page.

    Example:
    RJ001
    RJ002
    RJ003
    etc.

    Each row of the cylinders has information like customers name, date ordered, order number, etc.

    One column in the row I enter the "date shipped". I am struggling to create a summary page that will list ALL cylinders from ALL pages that has no "date shipped" filled in. I am just looking to list the cylinder numbers on the summary page which has the "date Shipped" column not filled in. Then when I fill it in, it will be removed from the list. Am I looking at the right formula for this or am I aimlessly struggling for nothing? Any help would be appreciated. :)

  43. Hi,
    I have data in a worksheet like

    Date Line absent %
    8-Jan-17 A-1 7%
    9-Jan-17 A-1 6%
    10-Jan-17 A-1 3%

    I want to get this data in another worksheet, where I will enter date and line name then the absent% will come automatically. Could you please help me ?

  44. Hi Svetlana,
    This is an excellent blog! Could you please help me with this question? Using the Sample Data below, what formula(s) could I use to lookup the Product Number and find all of the Product Names assigned to that Product Number? (Please see Expected Results below depicting how I'd like to summarize the results from the Sample Data.)

    Sample Data
    Product Number Product Name
    111 Zoloft
    111 sertraline
    222 Advil
    222 ibuprofen
    222 Motrin
    333 Advair
    444 amoxicillin
    444 Amoxil
    555 APAP
    555 Tylenol
    555 acetaminophen
    666 Vimovo

    Expected Results of the Formula(s)
    Product Number Product Name
    111 Zoloft, sertraline
    222 Advil, ibuprofen, Motrin
    333 Advair
    444 amoxicillin, Amoxil
    555 APAP, Tylenol, acetaminophen
    666 Vimovo

    Thank You,
    Reba

  45. Thanks very much for posting this! It helped me potentially hours of work and lowered the chance of making manual errors.

  46. Hi Svetlana,
    I've spent the entire day on this blog searching for a way to solve the problem given inline and I must say WOW you are an amazing expert :), hope you will be able to help me too with the following problem and advise which formula to use for the following problem:

    I have a list of cca. 18.000 customers mixed in cca 100 cities inside one country.

    Country is divided by 8 regions where 1 region has cca 7-8 cities under it. I have a separate table/list which cities corresponds to which region.

    I need to assign each of the 18.000 customers to a specific region, based on the city they are in.

    Logic of the list is:

    Column B2:B18001 contains cities names (multiple customers per one city)
    Separate table has a list of all cities under one specific region (in total 100 cities divided in 8 regions - with luckily no overlaps or false entries)

    I need the formula that will find all cities in column B that belong to these 8 regions and in the column C place a corresponding region name next to the city value (do 'cities per region' division).

    So it's all textual data, with multiple 'recognise' and IF 'city1' 'city2' 'city3'..... - THEN 'region 1' and repeat for the 7 other regions.
    Can you help me please?
    I've been searching for a solution for hours and starting to think that the fastest way would be if I manually do all 18.000 entries :(

    Many thanks in advance!
    Vila

    1. Hi Vila,

      It's definitely not a trivial task :) To make things easier for us to understand, can you send a sample sheet and expected result to support@ablebits.com?

  47. Hi Svetlana,
    How do I do this? :
    I've given cell N2 a name("myRef") which contains "B5". I wanna be able to write sth like "=2 * DEREFERENCE(myRef)" instead of writing "=2 * B5". What can I write to DEREFRENECE that cell's value?

  48. Svetlana,

    Thank you for this post! Very informative and I agree that too many people just rely on LOOKUP functions instead of these two. However, one thing you appear to have left out is when using this with text strings there is a drawback. Special characters break the MATCH function. For instance, if you are matching on a bunch of reason descriptions and one of them has a "/" somewhere in it the MATCH function fails while the VLOOKUP will still match it. This happens even with exact matches.

    Thank you,

    Alex

  49. How To I Find A Value From A Specific Columns Value?
    Ex: Column A1=1, A2=5, A3=10 And Column B1=2, B2=10, Column B3=15. Now I Find Number=10 From A1,A2,A3.

  50. USEFUL

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