The vlookup function is entered into cell E3, it is looking up the value in D3 which is percey-->33A What is the value of the table array?

1 answer

To use the VLOOKUP function effectively in Excel, you'll need a table array that includes the value to be looked up (in this case, "percey") and the corresponding value you want to return (which appears to be "33A").

A typical format for the VLOOKUP function is:

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
  • lookup_value: The value to search for (D3 in your case).
  • table_array: The range of cells containing the data to search through. This should include both the column with the lookup values and the column with the return values.
  • col_index_num: The column number in the table array from which to retrieve a value.
  • [range_lookup]: True for an approximate match or False for an exact match.

Assuming your data is organized in a table in the range A1:B10 where column A has the names and column B has the corresponding codes (like "33A"), your table array might look like this:

|   A    |   B   |
|--------|-------|
| percey | 33A   |
| other1 | xx1   |
| other2 | xx2   |

In your VLOOKUP formula in E3, the table array could be specified as:

=A1:B10

So the complete VLOOKUP formula entered in E3 could look like this:

=VLOOKUP(D3, A1:B10, 2, FALSE)

This tells Excel to look for the value in D3 ("percey") within the first column of the range A1:B10 and return the corresponding value from the second column (which would be "33A").