Table of Contents

Introduction
Version Used
Practice Worksheets
Comments
Chapter 1: What is XLOOKUP?
XLOOKUP Syntax
XLOOKUP Arguments
Chapter 2: XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP
What is VLOOKUP?
Limitations of VLOOKUP
Chapter 3: Relative & Absolute Cell References
Relative Cell References
Absolute Cell References
Naming a Cell
Chapter 4: Performing Vertical Lookups Using XLOOKUP
Chapter 5: Performing Horizontal Lookups Using XLOOKUP
Chapter 6: How to Handle Errors with XLOOKUP
Types of Errors in Excel
How to use the If_Not_Found Argument
Additional Notes
Chapter 7: How to Perform an Approximate Match with XLOOKUP
Sorting the Data Table
Handling Errors in an Approximate Match
Chapter 8: Perform Partial Matches with XLOOKUP
Excel Wildcard Characters
How to do a Partial Match with XLOOKUP
Chapter 9: How to Extract the Last Value with XLOOKUP
The Search_Mode Argument
Extracting the Last Value
Chapter 10: Extracting Multiple Values with XLOOKUP
What is Spilled?
Chapter 11: How to Perform Two-Way Lookups
More Books by Excel Master Consultant
Additional Resources
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 Introduction
Over the years, Excel has improved and new features and tools have
been introduced to make it even better. One such feature is the
XLOOKUP function. Microsoft have created this new function because
they have listened to people who have used VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP
on a regular basis and expressed their frustration at some of the
limitations they possess. These limitations will be explained in chapter 2
of the book. Microsoft have taken these points on board and created their
best and most flexible lookup function yet!

Who is this Book Aimed For?

This book is aimed for people who:

Have a basic understanding of Excel, know how to open and save

workbooks, enter data in worksheets and have a general familiarity
with the Excel ribbon and its tools. If you are an absolute beginner
then you would be better off starting with my Excel beginners book
called Excel Bible for Beginners: The Essential Step by Step Guide
to Learn Excel for Beginners

Know how to create simple formulas in a worksheet

Have used lookup functions before such as VLOOKUP,

HLOOKUP, LOOKUP, INDEX+MATCH and would now like to
learn how to use XLOOKUP to perform more efficient lookups

Work with large amounts of data and need to extract certain

information from it quickly and easily

Want to take their Excel skills to the next level

Would like to save time and become more efficient using their
spreadsheets
Version Used
At the time of writing, XLOOKUP is only available in Office 365 so all
the examples shown in this book are used in this Office package. For you
to use XLOOKUP and follow along, you must have Office 365.

Practice Worksheets
Before starting this book, I recommend that you download the free
practice worksheets. These worksheets are available to anybody who has
purchased this book. Each tab in the workbook is named after a chapter
number so you know which worksheet to use for each chapter. Following
along in each chapter will reinforce what you have learnt and it helps
absorb the information better. You can download the free worksheets by
clicking the below link and entering your details so that I can send them
to your email address.
Download the Practice Worksheets

How is this Book Structured?

I will be using the same data set called Employee Database throughout
the book to perform the various lookups in each chapter. If you have
downloaded the practice worksheets then this will be in the Employee
Database (Vertical) tab for vertical lookups and Employee Database
(Horizontal) tab for horizontal lookups. In chapter 11, where I will be
talking you through how to do two-way lookups, I will be using a
different data set which is in the Chapter 11 Worksheet tab in your
practice worksheets.

This book will build your knowledge of XLOOKUP as you go through

chapter by chapter. At the beginning of the book, I will talk you through
what XLOOKUP is and then discuss why it is better and more flexible
than VLOOKUP. I will then talk about relative and absolute cell
references because when you create XLOOKUP formulas you often
copy them down columns or across rows. Knowing the difference
between the two cell reference types is important because if done
incorrectly, Excel will return incorrect results or errors.
In the middle and latter sections of the book, you will get your hands
dirty and be able to try XLOOKUP for yourself. I will show you lots of
examples of how to create XLOOKUP formulas such as vertical and
horizontal lookups, doing an approximate match, extracting the last
value in a column, and doing partial lookups using wildcard characters. I
will also show you how to handle errors if XLOOKUP returns an error
and also teach you how to create more complex XLOOKUP formulas
such as two-way lookups by nesting an XLOOKUP function inside
another.

Comments
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it
and that it enables you to take your Excel skills to the next level.
Learning this excellent function will not only make you more efficient
and save you time, it could also help get you a pay rise as you will find
new ways to streamline your work and ultimately help the business you
work for.

I am always interested to hear from my readers and I am very grateful for

any comments and reviews I receive for my books. Please do leave me a
review on Amazon and you can also leave a comment on my website
www.excelmasterconsultant.com.

Now please read on to start your XLOOKUP journey.

 Chapter 1: What is XLOOKUP?
The XLOOKUP function is the successor to other Excel lookup
functions such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, LOOKUP and the
INDEX+MATCH functions. It was released in 2020 and is only currently
available in Office 365 at the time of writing. So why have Microsoft
released another lookup function when there is already VLOOKUP, and
HLOOKUP available? Well, the main reason is that these functions have
their limitations which I will discuss in the next chapter. XLOOKUP is
far more versatile and eliminates the need to use VLOOKUP and
HLOOKUP as it does everything these functions can do and more.

So, what does XLOOKUP do? The XLOOKUP function allows you to
search for an item and return a value from a column or row in a data set.
For example, you can search for a student in a data set and retrieve what
grade he/she has achieved or search for a product in a product table and
retrieve its price. If XLOOKUP doesn’t find an exact match you can
return the closest match. You will learn more about this in chapter 7. As
you read each chapter, I will show you many examples of how
XLOOKUP works and why you should use it instead of VLOOKUP or
HLOOKUP if you have Office 365. But first, I will show you what the
XLOOKUP syntax is and then explain its arguments.

XLOOKUP Syntax
As with any Excel function, you must start with an equals sign (=). The
syntax of XLOOKUP is as follows:

=XLOOKUP (lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array,

[if_not_found], [match_mode], [search_mode])

XLOOKUP Arguments
As you can see, XLOOKUP has 6 arguments, 3 are mandatory and 3 are
optional. The arguments in brackets are the optional arguments. I will
briefly explain what each argument is but as you go further in the book
you will see how they work when I give you various examples of
XLOOKUP in action.
1) lookup_value – The value you are looking for in the column or row
of the data set
2) lookup_array – The column or row of the data set to search the
lookup value
3) return_array – The value you want to return from the column or
row of the data set
4) [if_not_found] – This is an optional argument. The value to return
if the lookup value is not found. If you do not specify this argument
then Excel will return a #N/A error
5) [match_mode] – This is an optional argument. With this argument
you can specify the type of match you want by selecting one of the
following options:

0 - Exact match

The lookup value should exactly match the value in the lookup
array. This is the default option

-1 - Exact match or next smaller item

This looks for an exact match but if the exact match is not found
then it looks for the next smallest value

1 - Exact match or next larger item

This looks for an exact match but if the exact match is not found
then it looks for the next largest value

2 - Wildcard character match

This is to perform partial matching by using wildcard characters

such as an asterisk (*), question mark (?) or a tilde (~)
6) [search_mode] – This is an optional argument. If this argument is
selected, you can specify how XLOOKUP performs its search of the
lookup array. You can select one of four options:
 1 - Search first-to-last

XLOOKUP will search for the lookup value in the lookup array
from top to bottom. This is the default option

-1 - Search last-to-first

XLOOKUP will search for the lookup value in the lookup array
from bottom to top. This is useful if you want to find the last value

2 - Binary search (sorted ascending order)

This performs a binary search. The data needs to be sorted in

ascending order first otherwise XLOOKUP can return an error or a
wrong result

-2 - Binary search (sorted descending order)

This performs a binary search. The data needs to be sorted in

descending order first otherwise XLOOKUP can return an error or a
wrong result

To summarise, XLOOKUP can search for values in horizontal and

vertical ranges, basically eliminating the need to use VLOOKUP and
HLOOKUP. As you can see from its arguments, you do not need to use
the IFERROR function to handle #NA errors. It can also handle
approximate and exact matches as well as support wildcard characters to
search for partial matches. You can even return the last value from a
column instead of just the first value. You can now start to see the
benefits of using XLOOKUP instead of VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP and
begin to realise how flexible this Excel function is.
 Chapter 2: XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP
XLOOKUP is the number one lookup function to use in Excel because
of its ease and flexibility over other lookup functions. This is why it is
important to learn how to use it as soon as you can if you use Excel on a
regular basis and you have Office 365. VLOOKUP comes with many
limitations which I will describe in this chapter. Some of the limitations
can be overcome with work arounds like combining VLOOKUP with
other Excel functions but this can be time consuming to construct and
even more difficult to read. XLOOKUP will eliminate all this hassle and
save you time in the process.

What is VLOOKUP?
Before I talk about the limitations of VLOOKUP, I must stress that
VLOOKUP is one of the most popular and widely used Excel functions
available. So what does VLOOKUP do? It essentially looks for a value
in a column in a data set and returns a value from another column in the
same row. For example, you may have a worksheet that contains
information about employees such as their employee ID number, first
name, last name, date of birth and job title. You can search for an
employee ID number and return the details of the employee based on the
column number you specify in the col_index_num argument.
XLOOKUP can do this too but much more!

Its syntax is:

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, column_index,
[match_mode])

1) lookup_value – The value you are looking for in the left most
column of the table
2) table_array – The table from which you want to retrieve the value
3) col_index_num – The column number in the table array in which
you want to retrieve the value
4) [range_lookup] –This is an optional argument. If you select
FALSE then it is an exact match. If you select TRUE then it is an
 approximate match. The default setting is TRUE

To explain this further, I will use the below example to show you how
VLOOKUP works.

Here we have a table which contains information about each employee in

the range A1:D6 which lists all the employee ID numbers, their first and
last names, and their job titles. I want to extract the job title for employee
ID number 102 which is in cell G1 and enter it in cell G2.

The VLOOKUP formula in cell G2 is:

=VLOOKUP(G1,A1:D6,4,FALSE)

I will break this formula down by each of its arguments to explain how
this works:

lookup_value – This is the employee ID number in cell G1

table_array – This is the data set in the range A1:D6
col_index_num – The job title is in column 4 of the range A1:D6 so I
enter 4 in this argument
range_lookup – I want to return an exact match, so I enter FALSE in the
argument

If you are new to VLOOKUP then understanding how this works will be
key to understanding XLOOKUP when I go through various examples
later in the book.
Limitations of VLOOKUP
So, what I described above sounds great and performs a complex role
well. So what is actually wrong with the VLOOKUP function? Here I
will list some of the issues with VLOOKUP.

VLOOKUP is Slow
VLOOKUP is very slow as it requires you to reference an entire data set.
You won’t notice much difference if you have a data set with a few
hundred rows. The problem occurs when you have a data set which
contains hundreds of thousands of rows. Excel will take a while to
recalculate which is frustrating and time consuming. With XLOOKUP,
you reference less cells as it only requires you to reference the relevant
rows or columns. As XLOOKUP references less cells the calculation
times are much quicker than VLOOKUP.

Default Setting is an Approximate Match

The fourth argument (range_lookup) is an optional argument in
VLOOKUP but it is set to an approximate match. Most people who use
VLOOKUP want to do an exact match so they will have to specify
FALSE in this argument. If you omit this argument but would like to do
an exact match then VLOOKUP may give you an error or an incorrect
result. This means that in theory, even though this argument is optional
you will still have to specify FALSE each time you want an exact match.
Microsoft have fixed this issue with XLOOKUP because the default
setting for the match_mode argument is an exact match.

VLOOKUP only Looks to the Right

VLOOKUP only looks to the right of the lookup value. In the
VLOOKUP example above, if the employee ID number was in the last
column then it would not work. XLOOKUP can look to the left or to the
right of the lookup value which means you don’t have to manipulate the
data set for it to work.

VLOOKUP can’t do Horizontal Lookups

VLOOKUP stands for vertical lookup. This means it can look vertically
but not horizontally. You would have to use HLOOKUP for this.
XLOOKUP can look vertically and horizontally which eliminates the
need to use VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP.

Column Numbers are Hard Coded

In the col_index_num argument of VLOOKUP you have to enter a
column number. For example, if you want to return a value in the third
column then you have to type in 3. However, what happens if you insert
a new column in the data set? The col_index_num argument will still be
3 but VLOOKUP will return the value from the wrong column. With
XLOOKUP you can insert as many new columns as you like and it will
not break the formula as you don’t need to specify a column index
number.

VLOOKUP only Finds the First Value

With VLOOKUP you can only extract the first value as it searches from
the top row in a column to the bottom. With XLOOKUP, the
search_mode argument allows you to specify how you want XLOOKUP
to search for a value. If you want to extract the last value then
XLOOKUP can start its search from the bottom row of a column and
work its way upwards.

VLOOKUP can’t Perform Binary Searches

With VLOOKUP you can’t do binary searches but with XLOOKUP you
can.

You Have to Sort Data for an Approximate Match

In order to perform an approximate match in VLOOKUP you have to
sort the table from smallest to largest first otherwise it will give an
incorrect result or an error. With XLOOKUP you can perform an
approximate match without sorting the table first which saves you time
and hassle. I will demonstrate this in chapter 7.
VLOOKUP can’t Return an Approximate Match Value that
is Higher
When you do an approximate match with VLOOKUP you can’t return a
value that is higher. You can however do this with XLOOKUP as well as
returning a value that is lower. I will demonstrate this in chapter 7.

VLOOKUP can’t Handle Errors

Whenever the lookup value is not found in the data table in VLOOKUP
it will return a #N/A error. In order to handle these errors you would
have to wrap the VLOOKUP formula with an IFERROR, IFNA or ISNA
function. This makes your formula more complex and difficult to read.
With XLOOKUP there is an argument where you can elegantly handle
#N/A errors using the if_not_found argument. This will be explained in
more detail in chapter 6.

For further reading on this subject, I have also written a blog on the
limitations of VLOOKUP on my website which you can read by clicking
the link below:
https://www.excelmasterconsultant.com/single-
post/2018/10/19/Limitations-of-VLOOKUP-Five-Big-Limitations-of-
the-VLOOKUP-Function

Below is a table which summarises what I have mentioned above. You

can now see the benefits of using XLOOKUP over VLOOKUP.
Chapter 3: Relative & Absolute Cell References
This chapter will explain what relative and absolute cell references are.
You need to understand the difference between the two when you are
copying formulas down a column or across rows otherwise the formulas
will return errors or incorrect results. Understanding the difference
between the two can take you from being an Excel novice to a master in
no time.

Relative Cell References

A relative cell reference is the default behaviour of a formula. Relative
cell references change when the formula is copied to another cell in the
worksheet.

In the above example, there is a simple formula in cell C1 which adds

the values in cell A1 and B1 together. The formula is =A1+B1.

Now, when I copy the formula to cell G1, it is relative to cell G1 so the
formula becomes =E1+F1.

Let us take a look at another example.

In the above example, I want to work out the sales for each fruit by
multiplying the unit price by the quantity. The formula in cell D2 is
=B2*C2. I use relative cell references because I want to copy the
formula down to cell D6 so it will calculate the sales for each fruit in the
other rows. To copy the formula down use the fill handle which is
located in the bottom right corner of the cell you want to copy.

When I copy the formula down to cell D6, you can see how the formula
references each row, i.e. the row number changes in the formula as you
copy it down.

Absolute Cell References

There may be occasions when you do not want the cell reference to
change when you are copying formulas. With absolute cell references
you keep the row and column constant. You specify whether a cell will
be absolute by placing a dollar sign ($) before the column and row. If the
dollar sign ($) is before the column or the row and not both then it is
called a mixed cell reference.

The table above shows you how to make a cell reference absolute or
mixed.

When you want to enter the dollar sign ($) to make the cell reference
absolute or mixed, you can click in the cell and press the F4 key. This is
much quicker than if you were to enter the dollar sign ($) manually.

You can keep on pressing the F4 key to toggle between where the dollar
signs ($) will be placed. When you press the F4 key once it places the
dollar signs ($) before the column and the row to make the cell reference
absolute. When you press F4 again it places the dollar sign ($) before the
row only. When you press the F4 key the third time it places the dollar
sign before the column only. Finally, when you press the F4 key the
fourth time it does not place any dollar signs ($), making the cell
reference relative.

Let us look at a simple example of an absolute cell reference to start

with.

Cell A1 contains the number 6 and the formula in cell C1 is =$A$1

Now, when I copy the formula and paste it to another area of the
worksheet such as cell D6, the formula is still referencing cell A1. This
is because the column and row is constant as it has a dollar sign ($)
before the column and row.

I will now show you another example of an absolute cell reference.

In the above example, I want to apply a 10% bonus to each Sales Rep
based on their sales. The formula in cell C2 is =B2*$F$1. Notice that
cell F1 is an absolute cell reference because I want to keep on
referencing cell F1 when I copy the formula down the rows. Also notice
that cell B2 is a relative cell reference because I want to reference each
row number when I copy the formula down.

When the formula is copied down, notice that the absolute cell reference
i.e. cell F1 is constant but the cells in column B are relative i.e. the row
number changes when the formula is copied down.

What happens if I don’t make cell F1 absolute?

Well, when I copy the formula down to cell C3, notice that F1 becomes
F2 and the formula multiplies the sales with a blank cell. If the formula
is copied down to cell C4 then it would multiply the sales by cell F3 and
so on.

Naming a Cell
Another way to make a cell absolute is to name the cell. The main
advantage of naming a cell is that it makes the formula easier to read. I
will explain the steps on how to name a cell by using the same example
as in the absolute cell reference section where I apply a 10% bonus to
each Sales Rep. I would like to name the 10% bonus in cell F1 “Bonus”.
Here is how to do this:

1) Select cell F1 and in the Name Box which is located to the left of
the Formula Bar type “Bonus” and then press Enter

2) Now, instead of entering the formula =B2*$F$1 enter =B2*Bonus

3) Copy the formula down to cell C6

 4) Notice the named cell called “Bonus” remains constant

Understanding relative and absolute cell references is very important

when you are performing XLOOKUP formulas as you will be
referencing columns, rows or both and then copying formulas down or
across. Knowing the difference between the two and understanding how
they behave when cells are copied and filled to other cells will mean you
will not get incorrect results and errors.
 Chapter 4: Performing Vertical Lookups Using
XLOOKUP
Now that you know what XLOOKUP is, what the syntax and its
arguments are and you know the difference between relative and
absolute cell references, I will now show you various examples of how
to use XLOOKUP. In this chapter, I will first show you the most basic
function of XLOOKUP which is how to perform vertical lookups. This
will perform the same function as VLOOKUP but as mentioned in
chapter 2, XLOOKUP is much faster as it does not reference the whole
data table as you will soon find out.

The above screenshot is an employee database which shows all the

employees who work for a company. The database contains the names of
the employees, their ID numbers, the date they started working at the
company, where they live and how many years they have been working
at the company. This employee database is located in the Employee
Database (Vertical) tab in your practice worksheets.
The goal is to populate the above spreadsheet and fill in the date they
started in column B, their address in column C and the number of years
they have been working at the company in column D using the
information from the employee database in the Employee Database
(Vertical) tab. This spreadsheet is located in the Chapter 4 Worksheet
tab in your practice worksheets.

Populating the Date Started

First, I will populate the date each employee started in column B.
The formula in cell B2 is:
=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$D$2:$D$21,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!$B$2:$B$21)

I will break this formula down by its arguments to explain how this
works:

lookup_value – The lookup value is the name of the employee in cell

A2 in the Chapter 4 Worksheet tab

lookup_array – The lookup array are the names of the employees in the
Employee Database (Vertical) tab. This is the range D2:D21. Notice
the range is an absolute cell reference as I will be copying the
XLOOKUP formula down to cell B21 in the Chapter 4 Worksheet tab

return_array – The return array are the dates I want to return from the
Employee Database (Vertical) tab. This is the range B2:B21. Notice the
range is an absolute cell reference as I will be copying the XLOOKUP
formula down to cell B21 in the Chapter 4 Worksheet tab

The if_not_found, match_mode and search_mode arguments are

optional, and I do not need these, so I closed the bracket after the
return_array argument.

You can then copy the formula down to cell B21 to return the dates each
employee started at the company. Remember, because I made the range
in the lookup_array and return_array arguments absolute cell references,
when I copied the formula down it returns the correct results.

Note:
In a VLOOKUP formula, I would not be able to perform this task
because the lookup value, i.e. the column with the employee names is to
the right of the value I want to return, i.e. the date started column in the
employee database. Remember, VLOOKUP only looks from left to right
so for this to work, the column with the employee names would have to
be moved to the very first column in the employee database. The great
benefit of XLOOKUP is that you do not have to manipulate the data first
to perform lookups.

Populating the Address of the Employees

To populate the employees address in column C in the Chapter 4
Worksheet tab, you follow the same process as when you extract the
date started.

The formula in cell C2 is:

=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$D$2:$D$21,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!$C$2:$C$21)

The lookup_value and the lookup_array arguments remains the same

because you are still looking up the employee name in the Chapter 4
Worksheet tab and searching for it in the column containing the
employee names in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab. The only
difference is the return_array argument. For this, I want to return the
address of each employee and the addresses are in the range C2:C21 in
the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.
You can then copy the formula down to cell C21 in the Chapter 4
Worksheet tab.

Populating the Years in Service

Finally, I can populate how long each employee has worked at the
company.
The formula in cell D2 in the Chapter 4 Worksheet tab is:
=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$D$2:$D$21,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!$E$2:$E$21)

Again, the lookup_value and the lookup_array arguments remains the

same. The only difference is the return_array argument. For this, I want
to return the years in service of each employee, and this is in the range
E2:E21 in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.

I can now copy the formula down to cell D21.

Note:
Notice that the lookup value, i.e. the column containing the employee
names are to the left of the return array, i.e. the column that contains the
number of years in service in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.
You can therefore perform this lookup in a VLOOKUP formula without
having to manipulate the data set first.
In this chapter I have performed lookups where I have extracted values
to the left and to the right of the return array which shows the flexibility
of XLOOKUP.
 Chapter 5: Performing Horizontal Lookups
Using XLOOKUP
In the previous chapter, I showed you how to perform vertical lookups,
i.e. looking up values vertically in a column. Sometimes you may have
data where you cannot perform vertical lookups because it is arranged
horizontally. Before XLOOKUP you would have to use HLOOKUP, but
you can now also perform lookups horizontally using XLOOKUP.

The above screenshot is the same employee database but instead of it

being displayed vertically in columns it is displayed horizontally in rows.
This is in the Employee Database (Horizontal) tab in your practice
worksheets.
The goal is to populate the address, the date started, name and years in
service for employee ID number 1089. To follow along, please use the
Chapter 5 Worksheet tab.

Populating the Address

First, I will populate the address for employee number 1089.

The formula in cell B2 is:

=XLOOKUP(B1,'Employee Database
(Horizontal)'!B1:U1,'Employee Database (Horizontal)'!B3:U3)

To explain how this formula works, I will break it down by its

arguments:

lookup_value – The lookup value is the employee ID number in cell B1

in the Chapter 5 Worksheet tab

lookup_array – The lookup array is the employee ID numbers in the

Employee Database (Horizontal) tab. This is the range B1:U1. Notice
that the range is a relative cell reference as I will not be copying the
XLOOKUP formula down. You can also make this an absolute cell
reference if you wish

return_array – The return array is the address I want to return from the
Employee Database (Horizontal) tab. This is the range B3:U3. Again, I
have made this a relative cell reference as I will not be copying the
XLOOKUP formula down, but you can also make this an absolute cell
reference if you want
The if_not_found, match_mode and search_mode arguments are
optional, and I do not need these, so I closed the bracket after the
return_array argument.

Populating the Date Started

The next step is to enter the start date for employee ID 1089.

The formula in cell B3 is:

=XLOOKUP(B1,'Employee Database
(Horizontal)'!B1:U1,'Employee Database (Horizontal)'!B2:U2)

The only difference between this formula and the previous one is the
return_array argument. The date started dates are in row 2 of the
Employee Database (Horizontal) tab so therefore the return_array
argument is B2:U2.

Populating the Employee Name

I will now lookup the employee name for employee ID 1089.

The formula to extract the employee name in cell B4 is:

=XLOOKUP(B1,'Employee Database
(Horizontal)'!B1:U1,'Employee Database (Horizontal)'!B4:U4)
The employee names are in row 4 in the Employee Database
(Horizontal) tab so therefore the return_array argument is B4:U4. The
lookup_value and the lookup_array arguments remain the same as the
previous two XLOOKUP formulas.

Populating the Years in Service

Finally, I will populate the number of years in service for employee ID
1089 in the Chapter 5 Worksheet tab.

The formula in cell B5 is:

=XLOOKUP(B1,'Employee Database
(Horizontal)'!B1:U1,'Employee Database (Horizontal)'!B5:U5)

The years in service is in row 5 of the Employee Database (Horizontal)

tab so the return_array argument is B5:U5.

The great thing about XLOOKUP is that if the data table is re-arranged,
XLOOKUP will still give the correct results.

For example, the above screenshot shows the lookup array, i.e. the
employee ID row, has changed from row 1 to row 4.
However, the results have remained the same. Notice the lookup_array
argument has changed from B1:U1 to B4:U4 to take into account the
employee ID has moved from row 1 to row 4.

Note:
With HLOOKUP, if the employee ID is in row 4 in the employee
database and you try and extract the date started, address and the name of
the employee then it will return a #N/A error. This is because the lookup
array needs to be in the very first row of the data table. HLOOKUP can
only look from top to bottom and not bottom to top just like VLOOKUP
can only look from left to right and not right to left. Again, this shows
the flexibility of XLOOKUP compared to VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP.
 Chapter 6: How to Handle Errors with
XLOOKUP
As with other lookup functions, if the lookup value is not found in the
data table then XLOOKUP will return an error. With VLOOKUP,
HLOOKUP, LOOKUP and INDEX+MATCH functions you have to
wrap the formula with an error handling function such as an IFERROR
or IFNA. This can make your formula longer and therefore harder to
read if you ever need to go back and edit it. With XLOOKUP, there is an
optional argument to handle any errors called the if_not_found argument.
If Excel returns a #N/A error for example, you can return something
more meaningful instead such as “No Data Found”. This makes your
spreadsheet cleaner and more professional.

Types of Errors in Excel

Before I explain how to use the if_not_found argument, I will explain the
different errors that may occur when using XLOOKUP.

#N/A Error
Arguably, the most common error that occurs when you write lookup
formulas is the #N/A error. This means the lookup value is not found in
the column or array. It could be that an approximate match must be used.
I will explain how to do an approximate match in chapter 7.

#VALUE Error
The #VALUE error can occur if the lookup and return arrays have
incompatible dimensions. For example, searching in a horizontal array
and returning values from a vertical array or vice versa.

#REF Error
If one of the columns or rows in the data set was deleted and XLOOKUP
was referencing one of these columns or rows in the lookup_array or
return_array argument then Excel will return a #REF error.
#DIV/0! Error
If you are looking up numbers using XLOOKUP and performing
calculations with these numbers, but it is dividing by either a 0 or an
empty cell then Excel will return a #DIV/0! error.

#NUM! Error
If your data set contains numbers but it is manually fixed with a currency
symbol such as a $ or a percentage sign (%) and then you try and
perform calculations with these numbers you will get the #NUM! error.
When you fix a number with a currency symbol or a % then the number
becomes a text.

#NAME? Error
The #NAME? can occur if Excel does not recognise something in the
formula or function. The most common reason for this error is when you
have misspelled the function name or a named range. You can also get
this error if you haven’t entered any quotation marks on any text in the
formula.

How to use the If_Not_Found Argument

I will now explain how the if_not_found argument works in XLOOKUP.
I will be using the employee database in the Employee Database
(Vertical) tab.

I want to enter the date started, address and the years in service for Dan
James in cells B2, C2 and D2. This is in the Chapter 6 Worksheet tab
in your practice worksheets.

The formula in cell B2 to enter the date started is:

=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!B2:B21)
However, I get a #N/A error. This is because the name Dan James is not
in the list of employee names in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab
in column D.

To overcome this, I will use the if_not_found argument. This is the

fourth argument in XLOOKUP.

In the if_not_found argument I entered “No Data”. The full formula is:
=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!B2:B21,"No Data")

You can do the same in cells C2 and D2 as they will also return #N/A
errors if the if_not_found argument is not used.

For completeness, the formula to extract the address in cell C2 is:

=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!C2:C21,"No Data")

The formula to extract the years in service in cell D2 is:

=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!E2:E21,"No Data")

This now displays “No Data” in cells B2, C2 and D2.

Additional Notes
1) Some of the more common entries for the if_not_found argument
are “Not Found”, “No Records”, “No Match” and “No Result”
2) You must remember to enclose the text in quotation marks
otherwise you will get a #NAME? error

3) If you do not want to see any #N/A errors or text, then insert double
quotation marks (“ ”) in the if_not_found argument. This means the
cell will display nothing
 Chapter 7: How to Perform an Approximate
Match with XLOOKUP
Most people will use XLOOKUP to perform an exact match but on some
occasions you will need to perform an approximate match. Some of the
most common reasons why you would use an approximate match is to
give students a grade based on their test results or to calculate how much
tax to apply to employees based on their annual earnings. In this chapter,
I will show you how to do an approximate match by applying a bonus to
each employee in the employee database based on how long they have
been with the company.

I will use the employee database in the Employee Database (Vertical)

tab. The table next to it in the range G1:H7 displays how much loyalty
bonus to give an employee based on how long they have been with the
company.
The goal is to populate column E in the Chapter 7 Worksheet tab using
the years in service in column D as the lookup value.

The formula in cell E2 is:

=XLOOKUP(D2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$G$2:$G$7,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$H$2:$H$7,,-1)
I will break this formula down by its arguments to explain how this
works:

lookup_value – The lookup value is the years in service, so it is cell D2

in the Chapter 7 Worksheet tab

lookup_array – The lookup array is the years in service column in the

Employee Database (Vertical) tab in the range G2:G7

return_array – The return array is how much loyalty bonus to give each
employee which is in the range H2:H7 in the Employee Database
(Vertical) tab

if_not_found – I have skipped this argument by entering a comma (,)

match_mode – In this argument you can select one of four choices.

These are:
1) 0 - Exact match
2) -1 - Exact match or next smaller item
3) 1 - Exact match or next larger item
4) 2 - Wildcard character match
I want to extract the value which is the next smaller item, so I choose -1 -
Exact match or next smaller item. This means that if a value falls
between two milestones, it would select the smaller of the two. For
example, if an employee has been at the company for 3 years, then they
will get a bonus of $100 because this falls between 2 and 5 years and the
smaller of the two milestones is 2 years so it selects $100. If an
employee has worked for 22 years at the company then they will get a
bonus of $800 because this sits between 20 and 25 years and the smaller
of the two is 20 years so it selects $800.

If I chose 1 - Exact match or next larger item and copied the formula
down, then I would get the above results in column E. This means if the
lookup value falls between two milestones it would choose the higher of
the two. For example, if the employee has worked for 3 years at the
company then it would select $200 because this falls between 2 and 5
years and the larger of the two milestones is 5 years so it selects $200.
The correct way to do this is by selecting -1 - Exact match or next
smaller item. I do not need to enter anything in the search_mode
argument so I close the bracket. I then copied the formula down to cell
E21 to get the above results in column E.

Sorting the Data Table

An important point to make is that you do not need to sort the data table
in ascending or descending order before you do an approximate match. It
will still give you the correct results.

For example, I have sorted the above table in a random order.

As you can see above, it still gives the correct results in column E.

Handling Errors in an Approximate Match

Notice there are some #N/A errors for the employees who have been at
the company under 2 years. This is because the loyalty bonus starts when
an employee has worked for a minimum of 2 years in the range G2:G7 in
the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.

To overcome this, you can insert some text in the if_not_found argument
to make the table look cleaner as explained in chapter 6. In this example,
I entered “No Bonus” in the if_not_found argument.

The complete formula in cell E2 is:

=XLOOKUP(D2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$G$2:$G$7,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!$H$2:$H$7,"No Bonus",-1)
 Chapter 8: Perform Partial Matches with
XLOOKUP
As with VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP you can use wildcards to perform
“fuzzy” matches on text. A wildcard is a special character that lets you
do partial matches. There are three wildcards in total.

Excel Wildcard Characters

The three wildcard characters are:
1) Asterisk (*) – This represents any number of characters before or
after a text. For example, Emp* can return Employee, Employment,
Employed, Empathy. An asterisk can be placed at the beginning of a
text such as *ing. This would return any number of characters before
ing such as playing, doing, counting and so on
2) Question mark (?) – This represents just a single character. For
example, C?t can return Cat, Cot, Cut. A question mark (?) is used to
be more specific while still not being exact
3) Tilde (~) – This is used to identify a wildcard character (*,?,~) in a
text. For example, if a text string contains a question mark (?) as part
of the text string, then by adding a tilde (~), Excel will ignore the
question mark as a wildcard

How to do a Partial Match with XLOOKUP

The key to performing a partial match in XLOOKUP is to select the
number 2 in the match_mode argument.
Let us have a look at an example of how to perform a partial match using
the employee database in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.

I want to extract the name of the person that starts with “Ver” and enter
this in cell A2 in the Chapter 8 Worksheet tab. The lookup value is in
cell C2. Notice the asterisk (*) after “Ver”. Remember, this means
extracting any number of characters before or after a text. In this case, it
is any number of characters after “Ver”.

The XLOOKUP formula in cell A2 in the Chapter 8 Worksheet tab is:

=XLOOKUP(C2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,,2)

To explain how this formula works I will break it down by its arguments:

lookup_value – The lookup value is the partial name in cell C2 in the

Chapter 8 Worksheet tab

lookup_array – The lookup array are the names in the Employee

Database (Vertical) tab in the range D2:D21

return_array – The return array are also the names in the Employee
Database (Vertical) tab in the range D2:D21 because I want to return
the employee name

if_not_found – I have skipped this argument by entering a comma (,)

match_mode – As mentioned in the previous chapter, there are 4 options

to choose from. You need to select 2 - Wildcard character match

Let’s have a look at another example of performing a partial match with

a wildcard character.
In this example, I want to extract the name of the person whose last
name is “Kelly” and enter it in cell A6 in the Chapter 8 Worksheet tab.
Notice the asterisk (*) is before the last name this time.

The formula in cell A6 is:

=XLOOKUP(C6,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,,2)

This formula works in the same way as the previous one. The only
difference is where the position of the asterisk (*) was located.
 Chapter 9: How to Extract the Last Value with
XLOOKUP
One of the great features of XLOOKUP is the ability in how it searches.
As well as searching from the top to the bottom of a column, XLOOKUP
can also search from the bottom to the top of a column and extract the
last value. With VLOOKUP, it only looks from the top to the bottom and
extract the first value. To change how XLOOKUP performs its search
you enter a value in the search_mode argument.

The Search_Mode Argument

The search_mode argument has four options to choose from which I
have explained in chapter 1 but to recap:

1) 1 - Search first-to-last – This is the default and XLOOKUP starts

searching from the top row and works its way down to find the first
match
2) -1 - Search last-to-first – XLOOKUP starts searching from the
bottom row and works its way up to find the first match. This is useful
if you want to extract the last value
3) 2 - Binary search (sorted ascending order) – This performs a
binary search. The data needs to be sorted in ascending order first
otherwise XLOOKUP can return an error or a wrong result. The
system compares each cell to the middle value in the column and if it
doesn’t match then it searches further
4) -2 - Binary search (sorted descending order) – This performs a
binary search. The data needs to be sorted in descending order first
otherwise XLOOKUP can return an error or a wrong result. The
system compares each cell to the middle value in the column and if it
does not match then it searches further

Extracting the Last Value

The most common reason why you would use the search_mode
argument other than extracting the first value is it to extract the last
value. I will give you an example of how to do this using the employee
database in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab.

In the employee database in the Employee Database (Vertical) tab,

there are two entries for Liz Smith. This is because she has moved
address since she first started working for the company.

In the Chapter 9 Worksheet tab in cell C2 I want to extract her current

address “87 Narrow Hall Way” and not “90 Thomas Road” which is her
old address. To do this, I need to change how XLOOKUP performs its
search using the search_mode argument.
The formula in cell C2 is:
=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!D2:D21,'Employee
Database (Vertical)'!C2:C21,,,-1)

I will explain how the formula works below:

lookup_value – The lookup value is the employee name “Liz Smith” in

cell A2 in the Chapter 9 Worksheet tab

lookup_array – The lookup array are the names in the Employee

Database (Vertical) tab in the range D2:D21

return_array – The return array is the address in the Employee

Database (Vertical) tab in the range C2:C21 because I want to return the
address

if_not_found – I have skipped this argument by entering a comma (,)

match_mode – I have skipped this argument by entering a comma (,)

search_mode – I want XLOOKUP to search from bottom to the top, so I

select -1 - Search last-to-first

As you can see, the search_mode argument can be very useful when you
want to extract the most up to date information.
 Chapter 10: Extracting Multiple Values with
XLOOKUP
Another great feature of XLOOKUP is the ability to extract multiple
values with the same formula. This can make you more efficient and
save you time as you do not have to create multiple formulas in different
cells.

Now let’s look at an example of how to do this.

As with the previous chapters, I will use the employee database in the
Employee Database (Vertical) tab.
In the Chapter 11 Worksheet tab, I want to enter the date started,
address, name of the employee and the number of years’ service for
employee ID 1356 in the range B2:E2 with just a single formula.

Here are the steps on how to do this:

1) Select the range where you want the values to be in. In this
example, the values will be in the range B2:E2 so I select this range

2) You now need to enter the formula. The formula to enter is:
=XLOOKUP(A2,'Employee Database
(Vertical)'!A2:A21,'Employee Database (Vertical)'!B2:E21)
Here is a breakdown of this formula by its arguments:
lookup_value – This is the employee ID number in cell A2 in the
Chapter 10 Worksheet tab
lookup_array – This is the employee ID column in the Employee
Database (Vertical) tab which is the range A2:A21
return_array – These are the values from the columns I want to
return. I want to extract the values in the date started, address, name,
and years in service columns so I select the range B2:E21 in the
Employee Database (Vertical) tab
3) Once you press Enter on your keyboard the four values are returned
and spilled into the range B2:E2
What is Spilled?
You will also get the following message saying the formula has been
spilled, but what does the term “spilled” mean?

Spill occurs whenever you create a formula that return multiple results.
Excel “spills” these results into multiple cells automatically. In the above
example, even though the formula was created just once, the four values
were spilled into cells B2, C2, D2 and E2.

If something on the worksheet blocks a spilled array formula, Excel will

return a #SPILL! error.

Note:
Spilling is only available in Office 365
Chapter 11: How to Perform Two-Way Lookups
XLOOKUP can be nested inside another XLOOKUP to perform two-
way lookups. Two-way lookups are very powerful, and it searches values
in a row and column to return a value from an array. Normally, you
would use the INDEX+MATCH functions to perform this feat but you
can easily perform this with XLOOKUP as well.

Let us now look at an example of how to perform a two-way lookup with

XLOOKUP.

In the above example, there is a list of sales people along with their sales
in each month in the range A1:M14 in the Chapter 11 Worksheet tab.
In cell B18, I want to extract the sales for Mick Taylor in the month of
July.
The formula in cell B18 is:
=XLOOKUP(B16,A2:A14,XLOOKUP(B17,B1:M1,B2:M14))

I will break this formula down by its arguments to explain how this two-
way lookup formula works:

1st XLOOKUP
lookup_value – In the first XLOOKUP, I want to search for the name
“Mick Taylor”, so the lookup value is cell B16

lookup_array – I want to search the name “Mick Taylor” in the range

A2:A14 as this is where the list of sales people are

return_array – In this argument I insert another XLOOKUP function so

I can do a column search

2nd XLOOKUP
lookup_value – In the second XLOOKUP, I want to search for the
month “Jul”, so the lookup value is cell B17

lookup_array – I want to look up the month “Jul” in the range B1:M1

as this is where the list of months is
return_array – The return array is the array of sales in the range
B2:M14

I do not need the optional arguments, if_not_found, match_mode and

search_mode so I close the brackets after the return_array argument.

So how does this formula work? This formula first searches the name of
the salesperson in the range A2:A14 and locates the row index number
for Mick Taylor. This is in row 8 of the range A2:A14. It then does a
search of the month and locates the column index number for Jul in the
range B1:M1. Jul is in column 7 of the range B1:M1. It then does a cross
section between row 8 and column 7 and returns $508.
 More Books by Excel Master Consultant
If you enjoyed reading this book then please look out for more Excel
books written by me. I have Excel books in two series which are Excel
Formulas and Functions and Excel Bible for Beginners.

Excel Formulas and Function Series

Below are more books in the Excel Formulas and Functions series.

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How to create lookup formulas using Excel functions such as
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How to use the Quick Access Toolbar
How to change font styles
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How to apply borders
How to apply cell styles
How to use the Format Painter tool
How to insert and delete worksheets tabs
How to insert and delete columns and rows
How to freeze rows and columns
How to hide/unhide columns and rows
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How to create two-way lookups
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Auto fit all columns and rows
Insert multiple columns and rows in one go
Create a backup of the current workbook and save it
Create an email message and attach a workbook to it
Highlight misspelled words
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Format all charts in a worksheet
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Save a selected range as a PDF
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 Create a table of contents
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 About the Author

I’m Harjit Suman and I love all things Excel. I wrote this book as I want
to teach you all about Excel and its vast arrange of tools and features to
enable you to become as efficient as possible with your spreadsheets. I
really enjoyed learning Excel over the years and picked up vast amounts
of knowledge in this awesome spreadsheet program. I now want to pass
on my knowledge to you and my goal is to make this an enjoyable
learning experience for you too.

My Background
The first time I used Excel was in my first analytical role as a Business
Analyst back in 2008. The problem was, I had no great experience in
Excel other than simple data entry. Some of my first projects in data
analysis took so long to do. In fact, most of it was manually done as I
knew of no other way.

I knew this couldn’t continue so I invested in a beginners Excel book to

expand my knowledge. I wanted to automate my spreadsheets as much
as I could to save me time. After reading my first book I started to
understand the power of Excel. I bought more and more Excel books and
practiced what I read in the evenings and weekends, well, whenever I
had free time. I then applied what I learnt in my full-time work as a
Business Analyst. Soon, over time I went from an Excel beginner to an
advanced user and I managed to automate my spreadsheets as much as I
could.

However, I wanted to take my Excel skills to another level so I learnt

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) where I could write my own
macros. I bought VBA books and practiced what I learnt in my spare
time. Now I am able to write my own macros to build tools and
applications not just for myself but for other businesses too.

Now it’s your Turn

Over the years I have learnt a lot about Excel and I now want to pass on
my knowledge to you through this book. I have also created a website,
www.excelmasterconsultant.com. In here you can find reviews of the
many Excel books I have read which have taken my Excel skills to the
next level, and they will for you too. You will also find great tutorials
and blogs I have written as well as Excel courses and add-ins you can
buy. I also run an Excel consultancy service if you need any help with
your spreadsheets.

I hope you enjoy this book. I would love to hear from you with anything
Excel related so please get in touch by contacting me through my
website.

In the meantime, happy Excel learning.

Harjit Suman
Excel Master Consultant
 Additional Resources
For more information about Excel you can visit my website
www.excelmasterconsultant.com.

In my website you will find:

Excel tutorials and blogs to expand your Excel knowledge

Books you can buy that I read while I was learning Excel which has
helped me to advance my Excel skills and which I recommend to
you

Excel applications you can buy which will make you more efficient
and save you time

Online Excel and VBA courses you can buy

More information about my Excel consultancy services that I offer

An online shop where you can buy books, applications and courses

Please take a visit and drop me a message. I would love to hear from
you.
 Leave a Review
What did you think of this book?

First of all, thank you for purchasing this book. I know you could have
picked any number of Excel books to read, but you picked this book and
for that I am extremely grateful.

I hope that it has improved your Excel skills and you are now
knowledgeable and confident performing lookups using XLOOKUP. If
so, it would be really nice if you could share this book with your friends
and family by posting to Facebook and Twitter. It would be nice if you
can share your experience of reading this book to your friends and family
and what you got out from reading the book.

If you enjoyed this book, I’d like to hear from you and hope that you
could take some time to post a review on Amazon. Your feedback and
support will help me to greatly improve my writing craft for future
projects and make this book even better.

Amazon US:
You can leave a book review on Amazon US here
Amazon UK:
You can leave a book review on Amazon UK here
I want you, the reader, to know that your review is very important to me
and so, if you’d like to leave a review, all you have to do is click either
of the links above and away you go. I wish you all the best in your future
success and happy Excel learning!
 Table of Contents
Introduction
Version Used
Practice Worksheets
Comments
Chapter 1: What is XLOOKUP?
XLOOKUP Syntax
XLOOKUP Arguments
Chapter 2: XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP
What is VLOOKUP?
Limitations of VLOOKUP
Chapter 3: Relative & Absolute Cell References
Relative Cell References
Absolute Cell References
Naming a Cell
Chapter 4: Performing Vertical Lookups Using XLOOKUP
Chapter 5: Performing Horizontal Lookups Using XLOOKUP
Chapter 6: How to Handle Errors with XLOOKUP
Types of Errors in Excel
How to use the If_Not_Found Argument
Additional Notes
Chapter 7: How to Perform an Approximate Match with XLOOKUP
Sorting the Data Table
Handling Errors in an Approximate Match
Chapter 8: Perform Partial Matches with XLOOKUP
Excel Wildcard Characters
How to do a Partial Match with XLOOKUP
Chapter 9: How to Extract the Last Value with XLOOKUP
The Search_Mode Argument
Extracting the Last Value
Chapter 10: Extracting Multiple Values with XLOOKUP
What is Spilled?
Chapter 11: How to Perform Two-Way Lookups
More Books by Excel Master Consultant
Additional Resources
Leave a Review