By: Greg Pinero (Primary Searcher)

Greg Pinero (Primary Searcher) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:58:43 +0000

Thanks for the advice, Bob. I’ll give that a try in my next spreadsheet.

By: Bob Oliver Bigellow XLII

Bob Oliver Bigellow XLII — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:52:27 +0000

I use the VLOOKUP function a lot myself, and I just thought I would point out that there might be specific reasons that you are having issues with the standard VLOOKUP function. The first is that the column you are searching for the information should be to the left of the column whose information you want to return, assuming this isn’t the same column. I am going to assume you are already aware of this one. Sometimes it involves duplicating the column if this is not the case. Secondly, VLOOKUP expects the lookup column to be in alphabetical order. That is, UNLESS you give the final parameter as FALSE. For instance, =VLOOKUP(E1,A1:C10,2,FALSE). Lastly, returning N/A when not found is by design. If you are wanting a default instead (such as an empty string) you can use the IF and ISNA functions. This could either be nested with the original VLOOKUP function, or could be placed in an adjacent cell. It is often much easier to create various columns of step-by-step logic until you have reached your final value, then hide the transitional columns. For instance, =IF(ISNA(F1),”default value instead”,F1). Becoming familiar with these aspects of VLOOKUP and the various ways to analyze the results could save a lot of time, rather than having to add a macro function to every Excel sheet you plan to use this feature in.

Comments on: Excel – Providing a Default Value for the Lookup Function

By: Greg Pinero (Primary Searcher)

By: Bob Oliver Bigellow XLII