» Vlookup Formula – Organizing the Data Table

Rules for organizing the data table for proper use of the Vlookup formula:

The Vlookup formula searches for the lookup criteria in the leftmost column of the data table. It is recommended that the whole sheet be used as the data table, so that Vlookup will automatically look at column A as the leftmost column.
Defining a Name for the sheet (to use it as the Table_array (the second argument in the Vlookup formula) will eliminate the need of updating the range reference in any Vlookup formula.

To define a Name for the sheet:

1. Select a cell, and click Select All (the button at the top-left corner of the intersection between rows and columns).
OR
Press Ctrl+A. (In Excel 2003, press Ctrl+A+A when selecting a cell in a region.)
2. Press Ctrl+F3, and in the Names in workbook box, type the Name for the data table.
3. Click OK.
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