How to Use the LOOKUP Function in Excel
The LOOKUP function is one of Excel’s most versatile and useful functions. It can be used to solve a variety of different problems, including retrieving an approximate-matched value instead of a position and finding the last value in a row or column. In this blog post, we will discuss how to use the LOOKUP function in Excel and provide some examples of how it can be used to solve common problems.
What Does The LOOKUP Function Do?
The LOOKUP function performs an approximate match lookup in a one-column or one-row range and returns the corresponding value from another one-column or one-row range. LOOKUP’s default behavior makes it useful for solving certain problems in Excel.
For example, you can use LOOKUP to retrieve an approximate-matched value instead of a position. You can also use it to find the last value in a row or column.
Where To Find It?
Option 1:
You can find the LOOKUP function in the Formulas tab of Excel under Lookup & Reference
Option 2:
You can use Formula Builder to walk you through the formula step by step.
Option 3:
You can manually type the formula into any cell.
The Formula
=LOOKUP (lookup_value, lookup_vector, [result_vector])
- lookup_value (required) – The value to search for.
- lookup_vector (required) – The one-row, or one-column range to search.
- result_vector (optional) – The one-row, or one-column range of results.
Let’s Take a Look at Some Real-World Examples
Excel Workbook
Coming Soon
Example
Coming Soon
Tips and Tricks
There Might Be A Better Option
LOOKUP is not always the best option to search for data. Check out our post on INDEX MATCH which is a great substitute for LOOKUP, VLOOKUP, and HLOOKUP.
LOOKUP Is Sensitive?
LOOKUP will only return the first reference that it comes across. The function assumes that you sorted your data in ascending order. When it can’t find the LOOKUP value, it will look for the next closest value to return.
High Or Low?
If LOOKUP is greater than all values in lookup_vector, LOOKUP matches the last value. When lookup_value is less than the first value in lookup_vector, LOOKUP returns #N/A.
Let’s Recap
In this blog post, we discussed how to use the LOOKUP function in Excel and provided some examples of how it can be used to solve common problems. The LOOKUP function is a versatile and useful function that can be used to solve a variety of different problems in Excel. We hope that you found this blog post helpful and that you will be able to use the LOOKUP function to solve some of your own problems in Excel. Thanks for reading!
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