VLOOKUP: What It Is And How Do You Use It

VLookUp is a commonly used tool you might have heard about – but what is it and how do you use it? Check out this quick video tutorial for an introduction and what to look out for when using this formula.

Formula:

=VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted])

What do the terms mean:

“Search_key – is the value to search for (lookup value or unique identifier). For example, you can search for the word “apple”, number 10, or the value in cell A2.

Range – two or more columns of data for the search. The Google Sheets VLOOKUP function always searches in the first column of range.

Index – the column number in range from which a matching value (value in the same row as search_key) should be returned.

Is_sorted – indicates whether the lookup column is sorted (TRUE) or not (FALSE). In most cases, FALSE is recommended.

• If is_sorted is TRUE or omitted (default), the first column of range must be sorted in ascending order, i.e. from A to Z or from smallest to largest. In this case a Vlookup formula returns an approximate match. More precisely, it searches for exact match first. If an exact match is not found, the formula searches for the closest match that is less than or equal to search_key. If all values in the lookup column are greater than the search key, an #N/A error is returned.
• If is_sorted is set to FALSE, no sorting is required. In this case, a Vlookup formula searches for exact match. If the lookup column contains 2 or more values exactly equal to search_key, the 1st value found is returned.”

Source: Ablebits.com

Things to Keep in Mind:

• VLookUp searches the left most column. So if your search term is not in that column you either need to move it there or use the Index function instead.
• VLookUp is only gonna search 1 column so if you have something like first last name, in two separate columns – you need to concatenate (merge) the columns together or use the Index function instead
• Keep in mind duplication of account or contact names. VLookUp will return the first search term it finds – so if you actually have to account names that are the same or two contacts – be aware. 
• Vlookup in Google Sheets is case-insensitive, meaning it does not distinguish lowercase and uppercase characters. 

VLookUp is definitely a very basic tool as compared to Index, but I think it can be helpful at the ground level to understand how to do this. Happy practicing everyone!