This example will use the number 80 as the value. The greatest value smaller than 85 will be returned if the VLOOKUP function is unable to locate the value 85 in the first column. In the first column, there is no value for 85.įortunately, the VLOOKUP method is instructed to return a close match via the Boolean TRUE (fourth argument). The first input of the VLOOKUP function below searches the leftmost column of the red table for the number 85. The VLOOKUP code below retrieves the last name of ID 79 instead of returning the salary (third parameter is set to 3).Īpproximate match mode in VLOOKUP function in excel: Here is an illustration of the VLOOKUP function in the approximate match mode (fourth argument set to TRUE). The VLOOKUP function will produce a #N/A error if it is unable to locate the value 53 in the first column.

The fourth argument, the Boolean FALSE, instructs the VLOOKUP function to yield an exact match. The VLOOKUP function is instructed to return the value in the same row from the fourth column of the red table by the number 4 (third argument). The VLOOKUP function below searches for the number 53 (first parameter) in the table's leftmost column (second argument). Let's look at what the VLOOKUP function's arguments are. When you use the VLOOKUP function in Excel, you often want an exact match. There are a lot of simple VLOOKUP examples in this post. One of the most used Excel functions is the VLOOKUP function.

How to create vlookup in excel 2016