Whether you’re an Excel beginner or a seasoned user, understanding XLOOKUP can significantly enhance your data management skills. In this blog, we’ll break down the XLOOKUP function, show you how to use it, and explore practical examples to help you make the most of it.
What is XLOOKUP?
XLOOKUP is a modern and dynamic function introduced in Excel 2019 and available in Excel for Microsoft 365. It’s designed to simplify and replace older lookup functions like VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and LOOKUP by providing more flexibility and fewer limitations. It is certainly going make your Data Analysis experience better.
Why Use XLOOKUP?
- Versatility: XLOOKUP can look up values both vertically and horizontally.
- Ease of Use: Simplifies the syntax compared to VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP.
- No More #N/A Errors: Handles errors more gracefully with built-in error handling.
- Bidirectional Lookups: Look up values in both directions (left to right, right to left).
- Exact Match by Default: Defaults to exact matches, reducing common errors in data retrieval.
Understanding the XLOOKUP Syntax
The basic syntax for XLOOKUP is straightforward:
XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array, [if_not_found], [match_mode], [search_mode])
Parameters Explained:
- lookup_value: The value you want to search for.
- lookup_array: The range or array where you want to search.
- return_array: The range or array from which to return the value.
- [if_not_found] (optional): The value to return if no match is found.
- [match_mode] (optional):
- 0: Exact match (default)
- -1: Exact match or next smaller item
- 1: Exact match or next larger item
- 2: Wildcard match
- [search_mode] (optional):
- 1: Search from first to last (default)
- -1: Search from last to first
- 2: Binary search ascending
- -2: Binary search descending
Practical Examples of XLOOKUP
Example 1: Basic Vertical Lookup
Suppose you have a list of products and their prices. You want to find the price of a specific product.
We can write XLOOKUP to find the price of “Banana”:
=XLOOKUP("Banana", B2:B4, A2:A4)This formula searches for “Banana” in the range B2:B4 and returns the corresponding value from A2:A4, which is $0.50.
Example 2: Horizontal Lookup
XLOOKUP can also handle horizontal lookups. Let’s say you have the following data:
To find sales in “Feb”, we can write XLOOKUP:
=XLOOKUP("Feb", B1:D1, B2:D2)This formula searches for “Feb” in the range B1 and returns the corresponding value from B2, which is 700.
Example 3: Handling Missing Values
If the lookup value isn’t found, you can specify a custom message or value.
=XLOOKUP("Pear", A2:A4, B2:B4, "Not Found")
Example 4: Bidirectional Lookup
XLOOKUP allows you to look up values in any direction, unlike VLOOKUP which only searches from left to right.
Let’s find the product with a price of $0.75:
=XLOOKUP(0.75, B2:B4, A2:A4)This formula searches for $0.75 in the range B2 and returns the corresponding value from A2 , which is “Orange”.
Example 5: Using Wildcards
You can use wildcards for partial matches. Suppose you want to find a product containing “app”:
=XLOOKUP("*app*", A2:A4, B2:B4, "Not Found", 2)This formula returns $1.00 because “Apple” contains “app”.
Conclusion
XLOOKUP is a game-changer for Excel users, offering a more intuitive and powerful way to perform lookups. By understanding its syntax and exploring its various applications, you can streamline your data analysis tasks and enhance your productivity.
We hope this guide helps you harness the full potential of XLOOKUP. If you found this helpful, be sure to check out our other Excel tutorials and tips to continue mastering your data management skills.
Happy Excel-ing.