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How to use VLOOKUP in Excel

Interactive walkthrough — 6 steps. Click through at your own pace.

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AutoSave ●Book1 — Excel—▢✕
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Alignment
Number
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Cells
Editing
B2fx
ABCDEF
1Employee IDNameIDNameSales
2E1042E1042Ava Chen12,400
3E1043Ben Ortiz9,880
4E1044Cara Ng15,220
5E1045Dan Park7,410

Left table (A–B) is where the result goes; the lookup table (D–F) is what VLOOKUP searches.

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Simplified simulation — your Excel may show more buttons.

1

Click cell B2 — it will look up the Name for the ID in A2.

The lookup table lives in columns D–F on the right.

Steps in text

  1. Click cell B2 — it will look up the Name for the ID in A2.
  2. Type =VLOOKUP( to start.
  3. Type A2 then a comma — that's the Employee ID (E1042) you're searching for.
  4. Type the lookup table range D2:F5 and a comma.
  5. Type 2, a comma, then FALSE and close the parenthesis.
  6. Press Enter — B2 now shows Ava Chen, pulled from the lookup table.

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