Simple VLOOKUP Writing System

How To Always Write Perfect VLOOKUP/INDEX & MATCH

Formulas

John Franco
https://www.excelgurusacademy.com/

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In this crash Excel course, you will learn:
• How to understand and remember the VLOOKUP/INDEX & MATCH syntax
• How to set up your data table for perfect matches
• How to get rid of #N/A errors once for all using the TIF blueprint
• And much more!
Let’s start with our first lesson…

Lesson 1/3 – How to understand and remember the

lookup syntax

Getting started
In this lesson, you will truly understand and remember the syntax of VLOOKUP/INDEX
& MATCH.
Let's get the lookup terms demystified!
First, let me ask you a question, “How do you find the phone number of your favorite
actor or actress?”
You need the person's name (what you know). This is the first thing you have in mind
when you start a search, right?

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But you want to know something about someone. In other words, you want to know
what you don't know, right? On this case, you want to know the phone number of
“Harrison Ford” so you want to find the person's phone number (what you don’t know
and are eager to know).

Also, you need a place where the information is located, right? You need a table with
person's names and phones (where it should be).

So, you need a list with names and phones. This list (phone directory) can be in paper,
in a cell phone, in a digital .pdf file, etc.

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And you need to find the exact phone number and not everyone else's number (what to
return).

You want to call “Harrison Ford” so you don't want anybody else's number. You want
the exact number from the list.
And you need some tool to scan the list and detect the exact record you are looking for.
You can use your index finger or a to find the person's name and also his phone
number on any adjacent column.

So, the 4 natural lookup elements are:

• What you know (Harrison Ford)
• What you don't know and are eager to know (Harrison Ford's phone number)
• Where should it be (where should the unknown stuff be - phone directory)
• What to return (exact or approximate phone number)
In a moment you will learn that these 4 terms exist always in any lookup formula.

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The lookup syntax made simple
Now we can redefine the lookup terms...
lookup_value → What you know = Search value
You have always a search value; you cannot look at a table without this value in mind;
it's pointless.
table_array →Where should it be = Source table
You need a reliable list of data. This table should contain a column with the values you
know and other columns with the values you don't know.
col_index_num → What you don’t know and are eager to know = Column with the
data you want
The source list should contain columns with the information you don't know and are
eager to know. These columns are usually called attribute columns.
range_lookup → What to return = Matching type
You need to specify beforehand if you want an exact match or an approximate one.
And the pointer → VLOOKUP function (or MATCH function)
And you need a tool to search and find the value you know and then to pick the
unknown info at some adjacent attribute column. This tool can be your eyes, your index
finger, a pointer, etc.
In Excel you use a lookup formula as a pointer (VLOOKUP or MATCH).
So now every lookup term makes sense...
This is the VLOOKUP syntax...
VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_index_num,range_lookup)
This can now be stated this way...
VLOOKUP(what you know,where it should be,what you don’t know and are eager to
know, what to return)
And this is the INDEX & MATCH syntax...
INDEX(array, MATCH(lookup_value,lookup_array,match_type),column_num)
This can now be stated this way...
INDEX(array, MATCH(what you know,where it should be,what to return),what you don’t
know and are eager to know)

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Below you will learn intuitively what takes place behind the scene of any lookup
process.
VLOOKUP intuitive example

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INDEX & MATCH intuitive example

Now you can effectively use VLOOKUP/INDEX & MATCH formulas because you can
make full sense of the lookup arguments.
To download the next lessons and practice workbooks, go here:
https://www.excelgurusacademy.com/simple-vlookup-writing-system/

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