vlookup with multiple columns - excel

I have the following formula in my B:B column
=VLOOKUP(A1;'mySheet'!$A:$B;2;FALSE)
It does output in B:B the values found in the mySheet!B:B where A:A = mySheet!A:A. It works fine. Now, I would like to also get the third column. It works if I add the following formula to the whole C:C column:
=VLOOKUP(A1;'mySheet'!$A:$C;3;FALSE)
However, I'm working with more than 100k lines and about 40 columns. I don't want to do 100k * 40 * VLOOKUP, I would like to only do it 100k and not have to multiply this by all the columns. Is there a way (with array-formulas maybe) to just do the VLOOKUP once per line to get all the columns I need?
data example
ID|Name
-------
1|AB
2|CB
3|DF
4|EF
ID|Column 1|Column 2
--------------------
1|somedata|whatever1
4|somedate|whatever2
3|somedaty|whatever3
I would like to get:
ID|Name|Column 1|Column 2
-------------------------
1|AB |somedata|whatever1
2|CB | |
3|DF |somedaty|whatever2
4|EF |somedate|whatever3

INDEX works fast than VLOOKUP, I would recommend using that. It'll reduce the strain that many vlookups would put on your system.
First find the row that contains what you need in a helper column with MATCH:
=MATCH(A1,'mySheet'!$A:$A,0)
Then an INDEX using that number, that you can drag across and populate all your columns with:
=INDEX('mySheet'!B:B,$B1)
Your output would be akin to:
ID|Name|Match |Column 1 |Column 2
-------------------------
1|AB |Match1|IndexCol1|IndexCol2
2|CD |Match2|IndexCol1|IndexCol2
3|EF |Match3|IndexCol1|IndexCol2
Also! I'd recomend setting these ranges to actually cover the data, rather than referencing the whole column, for additional speed gains, e.g.:
=INDEX('mySheet'!B1:B100000,$B1)

I was thinking more on your problem, and if you have contorl over the data you're looking up on, I have another suggestion you could try.
In 'mysheet', where the raw data is kept, add in a new column that concatenates each column into one cell, with some sort of unique divider not in your data:
=B1&"+"&C1&"+"&D1&"+"&E1 etc...
Then you could do one VLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH for each row, instead of 40.
Once you have it in your new sheet, you could split the results back out.
Splitting without formulas
Copy/Paste the results of the lookup formulas as Values in the next column.
Select that column, and in the Data tab on your ribbon, select Text to Columns.
Leave it on Delimited, hit Next. Uncheck Tab, check Other, and input your delimeter (+ in my example).
Click Finish.
Splitting with formulas
Use =FIND() to locate each delimter, and =MID() to pull out the text between each set of delimeters, using the previous delimeter as the Start_num.
Definitely the more complex of the two methods.

If I'm understanding correctly one thing I would do to start would be to use =VLOOKUP(A1;'mySheet'!$A:LastColumn;COLUMN(B1);FALSE). This way your column reference will move as you drag your Vlookup to the right.

No formula.No output. So there can't be a way to apply formula on 1 column only and get on the others.
The other feasible way is, put i formula in 1 cell, use $ signs inteligently and drag across all cells in a giffy without having to put vlookup 40 times.
Vlookup has 4 codes to input
1-Lookup Value. Use this $A1 (put $ on A and not 1)
2-Source data- Put $ signs everywhere
3-Column index no. Just above your entire data,in the 1st row,add an empty row.Put the values 1 in A1, 2 in B1, 3 in C1 and so on. Now in the formula,instead of manually putting "2" or "3" Give reference to these cells.Put $ on Numberal and not column ( B$1).
4- Type false or 0
Then drag this across everywhere.

Lookup Value. Use this $A1 (put $ on A and not 1)
Source data- Put $ signs everywhere
Column index no. Just use column name from where data needs to be pulled (e.g. COLUMN(B1) if Lookup value is in Column A and you want value from column B).
Type false or 0

Related

Copy and paste from horizontal to vertial

I am wondering if there is a way to do what I want more automatically, i've been doing it with good old regular copy paste but it's taking a lot of time, I need to take the horizontal data I have currently and put it vertically while keeping the first column for each rows, the first column is my "main" part number and I need to link all the other numbers starting from column B to this main part number, example below,
I sometimes have hundreds of rows and columns to do this for, here is what i'm working with
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/dIyZv.png
And here's what the end result needs to look like;
[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/PvxGh.png
Thank you in advance!
It can be achieved either with VBA Code or with formulas. I did it with formulas and will try to show you how below.
I have one sheet with all the data, lets call it Sheet1. It looks like this:
Then, I have another sheet which returns what you want (Sheet2). It looks as follows:
Note that the first two columns are necesary for the formulas to work. The actual result is on Columns C and D.
Now, below are the formulas (or values) you would need to put in Sheet2 to make it work:
Cell A1: 0
Cell B1: 1
Cell A2: IF(B2=1,A1+1,A1)
Cell B2: IF(B1+1=$G$1,1,B1+1)
Cell C1: OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1,A1,0)
Cell D1: OFFSET(Sheet1!$A$1,A1,B1)
Cell G1: The number of columns in the data on Sheet1
Then, just drag the formulas (not the values in A1, B1), until you have the expected result.
I would suggest you try to implement this simple example first, and then move it to your actual spreadsheet.
Let me know how it goes.
EDIT: Regarding your comment, we could do a trick to make it work for a variable number of columns.
First, lets add some variability to the number of columns in Sheet1. This is how my new Sheet1 looks like:
On Sheet2 I added a formula to count the number of columns per row. See Column F below:
Then, the trick is to change the formulas in Column B in Sheet2:
Before: Cell B2: IF(B1+1=$G$1,1,B1+1)
After: Cell B2: IF(B1+1=OFFSET($F$4,A1,0),1,B1+1)
Note: My formula to count the number of columns per row is:
Cell F4: COUNTA(Sheet1!A1:D1)
Note: Change D1 to the max column in Sheet1. Eg. M1.
Note2: You can get rid of cell G1 now.
Start with column B and everything else becomes a doddle. I only use 1 formula for column B and no more than 1 or 2 for column A (there are 3-4+ methods, no need to duplicate yourself but choose any of them to construct A).
I'm only using 1 formula to make each column. Entire job task done in a minute-5.
Column B. Do this first for all your "column B's":'
=IF(ROW(A1)=1,INDEX(A$1:T$1,INT(((ROW()-20)/20+1-ROW($A$1))/COLUMNS(A$1:T$1))+1,MOD(ROW()-20-ROW($A$1),COLUMNS(A$1:T$1))+1),INDEX(A$1:T$1,INT(((ROW()-20)/20+1-ROW($A$1))/COLUMNS(A$1:T$1))+1,MOD(ROW()-20-ROW($A$1),COLUMNS(A$1:T$1))+1))
So all you have to do is drag down. Change only the row references to refer to your 100's if different rows you need to do this for. 1 minute. Job done
for 30 columns/cells change T to AD, for 200 cells , change T to GR, etc. You can also force it to stop at number of your choice.
If you put it anywhere else, it will still work, but your going to have to jiggy with the math a bit to get it to start from the the first entry in the row ( or the specific Wherever you want). Its up to you.
It acts like a modular clock. Been using it for a few years. Ticker tape. Rolling slabs of concrete laying out for you.
here, this is what I get when I plug it into the first row of any column , referring to a 20 field length header on my sheet.
Etc... It continues forever (or for however long you want it). (and you can change the mod anytime).
The first argument you could change to whatever your requirements are , for instance , if(LEN(F8)<1, or whatever, to Start/"Set the clock."
And For any corresponding ranges (your first column for each) (** Your "Column A's" **):
=IF(LEN(H20)<1,K21,H20)
or you can use this logic. It Becomes elementary.
=IF(J21=K21,J21,J20)
Better if you use this starting from row 2 on each column A: if(and(j1=it's next door neighbour, row(it's next door neighbour cell=1)), it's self j1,.. blah blah blah blah
OR AM I MISSING THE POINT ?
Method for getting column A;
Since you already have B, A becomes a simple trivial matter. Like cell =$fixed$cell , i.e. A1=$B$1 and drag down.
simple. headache over. game over. Its all effortless.
But if you want me to elaborate more ,
method 2 for getting 1st column, column A's;
=IF(LEN(AV1)>1,IF(ROW(AV1)=1,AV1,INDIRECT("Av"&1)),"")
=IF(ROW(B1)=1,B1,INDIRECT("B"&1)) <---- drag down from row 1
Method 1 for getting 1st column;
=IF(LEN(AV1)>1,$AV$1,"") <----- drag down from row 1
Method 3, below was my favourite:
=$B$1 <---- from row1 drag down (where row1 was just = column B, cell b1, a1=b1) easy peasy .
You could always demand a further simplification of M3:
A1=if(len(b1)>1,$b$1,"") <--drag down from b2 (where b1 was already set) *probably best because only returns a value as long as column B is .otherwise returns blank.
It's like handling duplicates by formula. Similar .
there was a method 4 too. bUt its late. (Written # 02:00)
Or did I miss the point? It's easy. Imo
Im only using 2 formulas. 1 for each column you need done . do column B first, and colimn A becomes a matter of fact . A doddle.
method 1 is my new favourite.
Its late, my naighbours have pissed me off again. Pardon my fonts and writing but seriously. didnt expect this. some people need to go to jail.(my naighbours)
So in the end: 1 formula for B. 1 for A (any one of any the 4+ methods. There are more also) , plug in and scroll for all the rows you need this done for . takes you 30 seconds? 5 minutes tops for all your rows.

Index Match Formula Shows Wrong Result

I have two table, this one is the initial table that contains raw data (on Sheet 2)
And the second table (on Sheet 1) contains formula based on data from first table
I use this formula to calculate the data, but as we can see on the picture, it doesn't produce right result. Could you please help me to modify the formula?
=IFERROR(INDEX(Sheet2!$E$2:$E$12,MATCH(Sheet1!$B$1&Sheet1!B$2&Sheet1!$A3,Sheet2!$C$2:$C$12&Sheet2!$B$2:$B$12&Sheet2!$D$2:$D$12,0)),"")
First the auxiliar column, using the concatenate operator & :
Then the formula would be:
=VLOOKUP(B$2&$E$1&$A3;Sheet2!$A:$G;6;0)
Change 6 for 7 if you want the description instead of Activity.
Please try this formula. It should go into cell Sheet1!B3 where it must be confirmed with Ctl+Shift+Enter because it's an array formula. (017)
=IFERROR(INDEX(Table,MATCH(1,(INDEX(Table,,3)=$A$1)*(INDEX(Table,,2)=B$2)*(INDEX(Table,,4)=$A3),0),5),"")
In preparation of this formula to work you need to set up a named range by the name of "Table" which comprises of Sheet2!A2:Fxx. Better set this range up dynamically so that it expands as you add more data but you can also declare it as Sheet2!A2:F1000 where 1000 is a number of rows you expect never to need.
This table has 6 columns, A:F which I intentionally made to include column A, which you don't need so that range columns and sheet columns are identical. Table,,3 simply defines the 3rd column. You can replace it with Sheet2!$C$2:$C$1000. If you do, make sure that all your ranges have identical sizes.
The 5 near the end of the formula, at ,0),5),"") identifies the 5th column of the range Table from which the result is returned if the 3 criteria match. Change this number to 6 to return the result from column F or to 1 if you ever need the value from column A.

Excel: Search Series of Values from Large Table

I have a large Excel table (with circa 9133 rows) which contains 4 columns. On a separate column, i have a series of values (300 cells to be exact) which i wanna search on the larger table and return the rows which have those values in the first column. What is the simplest way to achieve this instead of applying the filter and having to select the values manually?
You can Use INDEX, MATCH formula.
=INDEX($B$3:$E$7,MATCH($G3,$B$3:$B$7,0),COLUMNS($B$3:C$3))
As screenshot enter formula in H3 cell and drag and drop both down and right.
You can use VLOOKUP to get this. Assuming your original list is in A2:D9134
and your shorter list is in G1:G300,
in the next column write
=VLOOKUP(G1, $A$2:$D$9134, 2, false)
in subsequent columns,use the same formula,but change 2 to 3 or 4.
You should get all the results.
If you want to show blanks where no match is found, use IFERROR().

How can I sort one set of data to match another set of data in Excel?

I have a list of data that is not in alphabetical or numerical order. I want to sort a second list of the same date to match the first list. I cannot change the order of the data. My goal is to paste additional data from the second set back into the first data set.
**DATA SET A** **DATA SET B**
22350 ____ BH160 100
22355 ____ 22350 125
BH160 ____ BH190 200
BH190 ____ 22355 150
I would like to get the numerical value from column 2 of DATA SET B to show up in a new column of DATA SET A. For example, I want 125 to show up in line 1, column 2 of DATA SET 1.
My list contains about 200 unique numbers and I need to update it every week.
Can someone help me? Maybe with a macro that I could use each week?
You could also use INDEX MATCH, which is more "powerful" than vlookup. This would give you exactly what you are looking for:
You can use VLOOKUP.
Assuming those are in columns A and B in Sheet1 and Sheet2 each, 22350 is in cell A2 of Sheet1, you can use:
=VLOOKUP(A2, Sheet2!A:B, 2, 0)
This will return you #N/A if there are no matches. Drag/Fill/Copy&Paste the formula to the bottom of your table and that should do it.
You could also simply link both cells, and have an =Cell formula in each column like, =Sheet2!A2 in Sheet 1 A2 and =Sheet2!B2 in Sheet 1 B2, and drag it down, and then sort those two columns the way you want.
If they don't sort the way you want, put the order you want to sort them in another column and sort all three columns by that.
If you drag it down further and get zeros you can edit the =Cell formula to show "" IF there is nothing. =(if(cell="","",cell)
Cutting, pasting, deleting, and inserting rows is something to be weary of. #REF! errors could occur.
This would be better if your unique items change also, then all you would do is sort and be done.

How to use a named column in Excel formulas

I know how to make a named range in Excel.
I have a spreadsheet, with various columns going across as parameters, and then finally a formula in the last cell. This is repeated many times in each row, with each row having a different set of data, and the formula updated to reference the correct row index.
However, the formula looks like (three rows worth):
=G2*(10*D2 + 20*E2 + 5*F2)
=G3*(10*D3 + 20*E3 + 5*F3)
=G4*(10*D4 + 20*E4 + 5*F4)
I would like to use named ranges, but I can't find a way to do something like
=Count * (10*var1 + 20*var2 + 5*var3)
where count, var1, var2, and var3 automatically update to be the particular column of the current row. I can create a named range for every cell, but that isn't helpful. I can name range the column, but then I can't find a way to put an offset into the formula.
Also the whole point of this is readability, so if it ends up being some nasty complex formula function call, that probably doesn't help too much.
Simple, at least when using Excel 2010:
name your column: select full column, enter name
use column name in formula; Excel will combine the referenced column with the current row to access a single cell.
Using the example from Alex P:
select column D by clicking the column header containing the "D", enter name "input1" into name field, and press Enter.
repeat for columns E to F, using "input2" and "input3", respectively.
Do not define additional names defining names "input1" [...] as in example above!
use the formula as given in the example above
Attention:
Using named columns this way, you cannot access any other row as the one your formula is in!
At least I'm not aware of the possibility to express something like <ColName>(row+1)...
I would suggest creating a Table. Select your range A1:H4, then go to the Tables widget > New > Insert Table with Headers (on Mac). This will mark A2:H4 as body of the table, and A1:H4 as header.
From that, you get:
Whatever you put into the header column will define the name for this column automatically, e.g. Count, Radius, Density, Height
You can then write your formula using =[#Count]*(10*[#Radius] + 20*[#Density] + 5*[#Height])
When you change the formula in cell H2, Excel will automatically "copy down" this formula to all cells in column H. So no more accidental inconsistencies in the formulas.
When you need to add another row, simply click the last cell (in our example H4) and hit Tab. Excel adds another row, and also makes sure to "copy down" your formula into the new row.
If you need a total row, add it with the Total Row checkbox in the Tables widget. Excel adds a total row automatically. If you click any cell in the total row, you can change the "total formula" with the "▼▲" button, for example to calculate the Average instead of the Sum of the column.
If you have a long table and scroll down so that the header is not visible anymore, Excel automatically displays the column header instead of the column names (Count instead of G for example).
I can really recommend the video You Suck at Excel with Joel Spolsky which explains all of that.
Suppose I have the following numbers set up in columns D to F in rows 2 to 4:
D E F G
2 10 15 20
3 1 2 3
4 20 30 40
Now suppose I want the value in column D to be known as input1, column E to be input2, and column F to input3:
In Insert > Name > Define...
input1 RefersTo =OFFSET(Sheet1!$D$2,0,0,COUNT(Sheet1!$D:$D),1)
input2 RefersTo =OFFSET(Sheet1!$E$2,0,0,COUNT(Sheet1!$E:$E),1)
input3 RefersTo =OFFSET(Sheet1!$F$2,0,0,COUNT(Sheet1!$F:$F),1)
Now if I write my formula in column G as follows I should get correct answers:
G2 =(10*input1+20*input2+30*input3) // 1000
G3 =(10*input1+20*input2+30*input3) // 140
G5 =(10*input1+20*input2+30*input3) // 2000
I haven't fully reviewed the previous answers, but I think this is closer to what #Jason Coyne the OP was looking for. So, I hope I get a lot of up votes. ;-)
Excel allows your formula to refer to tables and columns by name if you "Format as Table". Here is an article titled Using structured references with Excel tables that goes into detail.
FWIW, it looks like this feature has been available since Excel 2007.
Here is a screenshot of an example:
You should be able to see the formula in E2 is =[#Count] * (10*[#Var1] + 20*[#Var2] + 5*[#Var3]) which is pretty close to what #jason-coyne wanted to type.
I don't like that you are forced to pick a style (or define a new one if you don't see a style you like). The good news is you can reformat the cells all you wish without undoing the "tableness".
It insists on turning on auto-filter. But, auto filter is easy to turn off (see the Filter Button checkbox under the Table Tools Design menu).
It also insists on having non-empty, unique values in the header row (Which kinda makes sense). If you delete a header cell, or insert a column, Excel will invent a new, unique name and stuff it in for you. D'oh!
If you want a column to not have a header, you can enter an apostrophe (') followed by one or more blanks. Remember header values need to be unique, so keep adding blanks if you want more than one column without a header.
If you would like to download the sample workbook in the screenshot, here is a link: https://filebin.ca/3vfaSDn4NLEA/SampleWorkbook.xlsx
Adding to Alex P's answer:
Instead of using =OFFSET(Sheet1!$D$2,0,0,COUNT(Sheet1!$D:$D),1) as the formula for input1, I recommend to use =Sheet1!$D$2:INDEX(Sheet1!$D:$D,COUNT(Sheet1"$D:$D))
It produces the same result, but it is non-volatile, i.e., only recalculate when a predecessor cell changes. This is much better in a larger model!
If you're using VBA, then you can select the whole column and name it, say MyCol, in the name box (upper left input box). The in your code you can refer to a cell in the column MyCol (line 12) using the following code:
Cells(12, Range("MyCol").Column)
You might be able to use the row() function. This returns the current row that you are in. So depending on the layout of the spreadsheet you can use it like this:
=offset(NamedColumn1, row()-1)
The -1 is because you are saying how many rows to move down from row 1 which if you are in row 1 you want to be 0.
Use the Excel feature called named references.
To name a cell or range of cells
select that cell or range of cells
Enter its name in the Name Box ( its left of the formula widget and has the cell name )
You can't use names that conflict with cell names, like k0.
The named cells can be used if formulas. E.g.,
=pi*radius*radius
I'd like to propose a slight variation of the cell reference made by Dror. This will work as well:
Range("MyCol").Rows(12)

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