

The counting starts from the leftmost column in the table array, which is 1. Col_index_num (required) - is the number of the column from which to return a value.The VLOOKUP function always searches in the first column of the table array, which may contain various text values, numbers, dates, and logical values. Table_array (required) - is the range of cells where to search for the lookup value and from which to retrieve a match.Unlike numbers and cell references, text values should always be in enclosed in "double quotes". This can be a value (number, date or text), cell reference (reference to a cell containing a lookup value), or the value returned by some other function. Lookup_value (required) - is the value to search for.VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, )

The function is available in all versions of Excel 365 through Excel 2007. The letter "V" stands for "vertical" and is used to differentiate VLOOKUP from the HLOOKUP function that looks up a value in a row rather than column (H stands for "horizontal"). In its common usage, Excel VLOOKUP searches through your data set based on the unique identifier and brings you a piece of information associated with that unique identifier. More technically, the VLOOKUP function looks up a value in the first column of a given range and returns a value in the same row from another column. What is VLOOKUP? To begin with, it is an Excel function :) What does it do? It searches for the value you specify and returns a matching value from another column. We will also provide formula examples that cover the most typical usages of VLOOKUP in Excel, and try to make them both informative and fun. We will try to explain the basics in a very plain language to make the learning curve for an inexperienced user as easy as possible. This article begins a series covering VLOOKUP, one of the most useful Excel functions and at the same time one of the most intricate and least understood. You'll learn how to Vlookup from another sheet and different workbook, search with wildcards, and a lot more. Today we'll look at how to use VLOOKUP in Excel with many detailed step-by-step examples.
