I was analyzing MATCH function and used the function in the following way:
=MATCH(REPT("z",4),Sheet1! G:G)
Syntax for MATCH function is MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])
Here lookup value is REPT("z",4) and lookup array is Sheet1:G:G.
REPT("z",4) evaluates to "zzzz"
MATCH function is giving me number 21 and it corresponds to last filled row in column G. If I fill the cell G22 then the function gives a value of 22.
Cell G7 already contains the string "zzzz" . My doubt is why I am getting 21 instead of 7 where there is already a matching string.
My level is basic in Excel and request experts help in clarifying whether above situation is meant to find the last filled row in the column or the purpose of match function is to find matching string value in the column range.
By not specifying the match type excel searches for the last entry that is smaller or equal to the lookup value. In your case, if you put a value (or in your case string) smaller or equal to "zzzz" in the last cell of the row, the formula will return the number of the last row. Therefore, if you don't declare the match type, the lookup array should be sorted ascending. If you want to return the first exact match, you should use the match type "exact match".
Related
I want to know column number of a particular text within an array in a sheet.Hence i used the MATCH function
=MATCH (lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])
The 2nd Parameter expects a lookup_array.Eg of a valid input: C5:N5
I dont want to specify "C" as the starting column of the array nor Row number 5 as the row number.I want it to be dynamic.I want to give a absolute column number & absolute row number.
Is there any way to do this.I have tried a lot in vain.
If your dynamic cell references are in A1 and B1 this should work...
=MATCH(0,INDIRECT(A1):INDIRECT(B1),0)
I'm trying to use the approximate match function of vlookup to find a value in an array, that can be of different length. I just dragged the lookup array as far down as possible in order to assure that all data is selected, however, the approximate match option will then always select the last value in the array. Is there a way of feeding vlookup the correct lookup array in order to extract the correct value? Regards
Create a dynamic range name and feed that into the Vlookup. For example, if your lookup table starts in A1 and has numeric data, define a name called TheRange with the formula
=Sheet1!$A$1:Index(Sheet1!$D:$D,match(99^99,Sheet1!$A:$A,1))
This will return a range from A1 to column D down to the last row with a number in column A. When rows are added or removed from the table, the named range will be recalculated automatically and adjust to the new dimensions.
Then can use
=vlookup(YourValue,TheRange,2,1)
Adjust cell addresses to your situation. I take it you are aware that for an approximate match the data must be sorted ascending for the formula to return the correct result. With the 1 or TRUE as the last parameter, the formula will always return a result, but if the table is not sorted on the first column, the result is most likely not correct.
This question is an extension of this - click me:
So I have 7 ordered checkboxes, generating 128 possible combinations of being checked/unchecked. Each checkbox is linked to a cell showing its state - true =1, false =0.
I then have a cell that concatenates the states of all 7 check boxes into a 7 digit string, e.g. 1000011 or 0000000 or 1110011, etc - providing a lookup value for my lookup table (which designates each possible combination to a piece of text).
The problem I am having is that vlookup is not finding the strings beginning with a leading 1, e.g. 1000001, or 1110000, or 1001110, etc, but strangely is matching one of the strings beginning with a leading 1 - "10000000". In other words, when I select only the first check box of the 7, I get text. When I select the first check box in addition to any combination of the other 6, I get an #N/A. When I deselect the first check box, with any combination of the others, I get text. Odd, I know.
Could anyone help with this?
Thanks in advance.
You might check if format at origin is equal to all values at destination, I mean, if you have for example 1000001 in lookup field as NUMBER and at lookup table you have the same value as TEXT, VLOOKUP never going to find it, because to Excel is not the same thing a value as NUMBER and a value as TEXT.
I'm almost sure that in your lookup table you have some values as NUMBER; to solve it you have to select only the column of your lookup table when you have all the possible combinations, then go to Data -> Text To Columns, then click Next -> Next -> Choose 'Text' Option -> Finish
Let us know if that worked for you.
Short answer: Supply FALSE as 4th VLOOKUP() parameter.
If it is omitted, range search is supposed to be TRUE and in such a case order of items in VLOOKUP() list matters, because they are understood as thresholds, not as singular values.
From VLOOKUP() help:
Lookup_value The value to search in the first column of the table array. Lookup_value can be a value or a reference. If
lookup_value is smaller than the smallest value in the first
column of table_array, VLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value.
And now read carefully:
Range_lookup A logical value that specifies whether you want
VLOOKUP to find an exact match or an approximate match:
If TRUE or
omitted, an exact or approximate match is returned. If an exact match
is not found, the next largest value that is less than lookup_value is
returned.
The values in the first column of table_array must be placed in
ascending sort order; otherwise, VLOOKUP may not give the correct
value. You can put the values in ascending order by choosing the Sort
command from the Data menu and selecting Ascending. For more
information, see Default sort orders.
If FALSE, VLOOKUP will only find
an exact match. In this case, the values in the first column of
table_array do not need to be sorted. If there are two or more values
in the first column of table_array that match the lookup_value, the
first value found is used. If an exact match is not found, the error
value #N/A is returned.
What I'm trying to do is use VLOOKUP to search through for an Alphanumeric serial number in a range of data in another sheet. However, it does not seem to be recognizing that there is a match when I know for a fact that there is and that they are formatted exactly the same.
The values I'm working with look like this: FTX1724R3W2
I've ran a =A1=B2 function and it returns TRUE.
I've copied and pasted one to the other to make sure that the formatting is the same, yet it still returns a #N/A.
Using MATCH returns a FALSE as well.
I'm not sure what's going on, do I need to specially format the Alphanumeric codes so that they are "searchable"?
Here is the VLOOKUP that I was using...
=VLOOKUP(L2498, Inventory_List!$A$1:$D$2176, 1, FALSE)
My final goal is that it finds it in the other sheet and returns the value in the first indexed column, which is the name of the inventory object.
VLOOKUP() searches the first column of the indicated range. For the function to be effective, have the serial number column be the leftmost column of your search range.
From Microsoft:
VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_index_num,range_lookup)
Lookup_value The value to search in the first column of the table
array. Lookup_value can be a value or a reference. If lookup_value is
smaller than the smallest value in the first column of table_array,
VLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value.
Table_array Two or more columns of data. Use a reference to a range
or a range name. The values in the first column of table_array are the
values searched by lookup_value. These values can be text, numbers, or
logical values. Uppercase and lowercase text are equivalent.
Col_index_num The column number in table_array from which the
matching value must be returned. A col_index_num of 1 returns the
value in the first column in table_array; a col_index_num of 2 returns
the value in the second column in table_array, and so on.
I have a row of values - 1,2,3,8,35,7,8,3,5,7,x
X is where I want the formula to be
I'd like to somehow get the value of the row which 8 is the closest to X (so not row 4 in this case, but row 7)
If I use match("8",A:A,0) I get the first match it finds.
How do I find the closest match to the cell where the calculation occurs?
You may use:
{=MATCH(2,1/(A1:A10=8))}
just remember it is an array function, so CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER must be used
The answer is based on a trick and behaviour of the MATCH function. I will allow myself to copy the explanation from ozgrid:
The magic here is actually in the MATCH function more than the array. Two interesting properties of the match function are being used here:
1) With MATCH, if no match is found, then the function will return the position of the last value in the array, so if you did =MATCH(8,{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1}), your result is = 13, since there was no 8 to find in the array
2) MATCH will return the position of the last value, but won't return the position of an error (or of a blank value), so if you have =MATCH(8,{1,2,3,4,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,7,6,5,4,3,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!}), your result is = 11, as the 3 in the 11th position is the last value in the array
So daddylonglegs' formula checks each cell against the target value with (A1:A13=B1) in the array formula, giving an array with TRUE (or 1) for the positions where the cells match, and with FALSE (or 0) for the rest. Dividing 1 by this results in 1s wherever that array was TRUE, and #DIV/0! wherever that array was false. So his formula is evaluated as
=MATCH(2,{#DIV/0!,1,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,1,#DIV/0!,1,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!,#DIV/0!})
Since no '2' is found in the array, and the last value (1) is found in the 9th position, the MATCH returns 9
If you want the last match you can use this formula in A11
=MATCH(2,INDEX(1/(A1:A10=8),0))
[Note: if the values are numeric then 8 is OK - if they are text formatted numbers then you need "8"]
....or do you have values either side of the calculation cell (so nearest might be up or down)?