Using VLOOKUP in Google Sheets: Step-by-Step Instructions

VLOOKUP is an essential function in Google Sheets that helps you find specific information in a dataset. This guide will take you through the process of using VLOOKUP effectively in Google Sheets.

Understanding VLOOKUP

• Function Syntax: The syntax for VLOOKUP is =VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted]). This function has four key components:
  • Search Key: The value you are searching for in the first column of your range.
  • Range: The cell range within which the search will be conducted. VLOOKUP looks for the search key in the first column of this range.
  • Index: The column number in the range from which to return a value.
  • Is_Sorted: Set this to FALSE for an exact match, which is recommended unless your data is sorted.

Basic VLOOKUP Usage

• Selecting the Search Key: Choose the value or cell you want to search for.
• Defining the Range: Select the range that includes the data you want to search and the data you want to retrieve.
• Setting the Index: Decide which column number in the range has the data you want to return.
• Applying VLOOKUP: Insert the VLOOKUP formula in the desired cell to display the search result. Remember to set is_sorted to FALSE for exact matching.

For example, if you have a dataset with a list of products and their prices, you can use VLOOKUP to find the price of a specific product by searching for its name.

In this case, if you want to find the price of an apple, you can use the following VLOOKUP formula:

=VLOOKUP("Apple", A2:B4, 2, FALSE)

This formula will return the price of an apple, which is 1.5.

Or, in another sheet you can use a lookup value from a cell:

In this case, if you want to find the price of the products from another shhet, you can use the following VLOOKUP formula:

This way you can easily lookup values from one sheet to another.

Handling Errors

• When VLOOKUP can’t find the search key, it returns an #N/A error. You can manage this using IFERROR(value, value_if_error) to specify an alternative action or message.

Advanced VLOOKUP Strategies

• Wildcard Characters: Use * for any sequence of characters and ? for a single character in your search key for partial matches.
• Range Lookup: If you’re working with sorted data, you can set is_sorted to TRUE for VLOOKUP to find the closest match.
• VLOOKUP with ArrayFormula: Enhance VLOOKUP’s capabilities by combining it with ARRAYFORMULA to apply it across a column.

Merge Cells After VLOOKUP

After using VLOOKUP to retrieve data, you might want to merge cells in Google Sheets to create a unified appearance for your data. This can be useful for formatting and organizing your data more effectively. Keep in mind that merging cells can affect the functionality of certain functions so it may change how your VLOOKUP functions work. If you have another sheet just for presentation then you can even copy the data as values and then merge the cells there. This way you can keep the original data intact and still have a nice looking presentation.

Automating VLOOKUP with Add to Sheets

You can have data automatically matched when you save it to your spreadsheets using the extension. If you have your columns predefined and you save data with the extension, it will automatically match the data to the columns you’ve set up. This way you can save time on data entry and have your data automatically matched to the right columns.

It’s also possible to use the extension to extract all email addresses, links, and image links from a page and save them to your Google Sheets. This can be useful if you’re saving data from a page that has multiple email addresses, links, or images that you want to save to your spreadsheet. Using VLOOKUP you can then match the data to the right columns while you’re saving data right from the web.

Conclusion

Understanding and using VLOOKUP in GSheets allows you to efficiently search for and retrieve data from your spreadsheets. By following these steps, you can leverage VLOOKUP to enhance your data management and analysis tasks in Google Sheets.

With the Add to Sheets Chrome extension, it’s even easier to save and organize data from the web. This extension is particularly useful for anyone who needs to quickly save content to GSheets.

Try out Add to Sheets for free and start saving time on data entry tasks by saving content directly to Google Sheets from the web.