Mastering VLOOKUP in Excel – Search Data Vertically Like a Pro

VLOOKUP stands for “Vertical Lookup.” It searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from a different column.

🔹 Syntax:

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

🔹 Example:

Find the marks of a student named "Amit" from a table:

=VLOOKUP("Amit", A2:C10, 2, FALSE)

🔹 Key Arguments Explained:

• lookup_value – The value to search for (e.g., "Amit")
• table_array – The full data table (e.g., A2:C10)
• col_index_num – The column number to return data from (e.g., 2)
• range_lookup – FALSE = exact match (recommended)

🔹 Real-Life Use Cases:

• 🎓 Get student marks by name
• 🛒 Find product prices by ID
• 📊 Match employee data from codes

🔹 Common Mistakes:

• ❌ Wrong column index number
• ❌ Using TRUE instead of FALSE (use FALSE for exact match)
• ✅ Use $ to lock table reference (like $A$2:$C$10)

🔚 Wrap-Up

VLOOKUP is a beginner-friendly but powerful tool. It works great for structured tables where data is arranged vertically.

Ready to level up? Next, we’ll explore HLOOKUP, the horizontal version of this formula.

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