How to Use VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP to find an exact match

The VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP functions contain an argument called range_lookup that allows you to find an exact match to your lookup value without sorting the lookup table. Note : It is not necessary to sort the lookup table if you use the range_lookup argument correctly. VLOOKUP Function =VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_index_num,range_lookup) where: Argument Definition of argument --------------------------------------------------------------------lookup_value The value to be found in the first column of the array. table_array The table of information in which data is looked up. col_index The column number in the table_array for which the matching value should be returned. range_lookup It is a logical value that specifies whether you want to find an exact match or an approximate match. If TRUE or omitted, an approximate match is returned; in other words, if an exact match is not found, the next largest value that is less than the lookup_value is returned. If FALSE, VLOOKUP finds an exact match. If an exact match is not found, the #N/A error value is returned. Note : If range_lookup is TRUE or omitted (for an approximate match), the values in the first column of table_array must be sorted in ascending order. If range_lookup is FALSE (for an exact match), the table_array does not need to be sorted. Example That Uses FALSE as the Range_lookup Argument The following list contains some fruits and their respective colors. Notice that the first column is not sorted: A1: Fruit B1: Color A2: Kiwi B2: Green A3: Banana B3: Yellow A4: Grape B4: Purple A5: Apple B5: Red The following formula finds the color (Red) that corresponds to the fruit Apple. You can type the formula in any cell on the worksheet: =VLOOKUP("Apple",A2:B5,2,FALSE) Notice that if you change the range_lookup argument to TRUE, Excel returns the #N/A error, because the first column is not sorted. HLOOKUP Function =HLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,row_index_num,range_lookup) where: Argument Definition of argument --------------------------------------------------------------------lookup_value The value to be found in the first column of the array.

table_array The table of information in which data is looked up. row_index The row number in the table_array for which the matching value should be returned. range_lookup It is a logical value that specifies whether you want to find an exact match or an approximate match. If TRUE or omitted, an approximate match is returned; in other words, if an exact match is not found, the next largest value that is less than the lookup_value is returned. If FALSE, VLOOKUP finds an exact match. If an exact match is not found, the #N/A error value is returned. Note : If range_lookup is TRUE or omitted (for an approximate match), the values in the first row of table_array must be sorted in ascending order. If range_lookup is FALSE (for an exact match), the table_array does not need to be sorted. Example That Uses FALSE as the Range_lookup Argument The following list contains some fruits and their respective colors. Notice that the first column is not sorted: A1: Fruit B1: Color A2: Kiwi B2: Green A3: Banana B3: Yellow A4: Grape B4: Purple A5: Apple B5: Red The following formula finds the Color column, and returns the third item (-1) for the heading Yellow. You can type the formula in any cell on the worksheet: =HLOOKUP("Color",A1:B5,3,FALSE) Notice that if you change the range_lookup argument to TRUE, Excel returns the #N/A error, because the first column is not sorted.