The office suite is so outstanding today that it even allows you to do work from a cell phone like iPhone easily, in turn with each update it integrates new functions and great utilities, but knowing the basics is essential, that’s why today we will teach you how use the VLOOKUP function on two lookup tables.
What is the VLOOKUP function in Microsoft Excel?
As its name indicates, the VLOOKUP function is responsible for searching for a specific value in the table, in any case, the “V” refers to “Vertical” which indicates that this function will search for the previously specified value only in a line.
Once the search has been performed with the function, it will return a value. Undoubtedly, this function is very useful when you want to search for content within a specific row, especially efficient when there is a large amount of information in the table.
Using the VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP function is essential to facilitate our organization work, its application is relatively simple and the great advantage of being able to find any value very quickly is something worth mentioning.
Even so, this function is specifically designed to search for information directly in a single row, so it can become a bit complicated when you need to search in several tables or rows. This is why we have prepared the following tutorial in which we will teach you how to use this function on two tables.
How to use the VLOOKUP function over two lookup tables
On this occasion, it will be necessary to implement the so-called SI.ERROR function, which will be very useful to search for content in various sheets or tables. This feature was included in more recent versions of Microsoft Office, so you will need to have at least Microsoft office 2010 to use it.
The IF.ERROR function
The IF.ERROR function can be very useful for different circumstances, it is a logical function with infinite uses. In short, this function is used as soon as an error occurs or a requested value is not found, the function is used to respond to this error.
This function is especially useful when performing a search in two tables or to search for data in two or more Excel sheets, since originally the VLOOKUP function only works for a specific row. Using the IF.ERROR function, it is possible to use the VLOOKUP function again in the formula and include a new table.
In other words, what we need to do is use the IF.ERROR function first, followed by the VLOOKUP function (indicating the first table), again the IF.ERROR function, and finally the VLOOKUP function.
Using IFERROR and VLOOKUP to find parameters in two tables
- Go to the result box and then to the formulas section, there you must select the SI.ERROR function.
- Inside value you should use the VLOOKUP function. In “Searched value” you must select the box in which the value to be searched for is written. Under “Array search in”, point to the search field. In “Column” you must select the data column. Finally, the “Ordered” section must go to “0”. When you finish, make sure you don’t click OK.
- Go again to the IF.ERROR function, in “Value if error” you must select VLOOKUP again and configure the search as before, but with the second table.
- After doing the above setup, you should get a formula similar to the image above, i.e. something like “=IF.ERROR(VLOOKUP(G10,A2:B6,2,0),VLOOKUP(G10,D2:E6,2 ;0))”.
With the above tutorial you will be able to easily search for data in two tables, as you will see knowing how all the Excel formulas are used in a spreadsheet is essential to make more complex tables and documents. It may seem difficult, but once the process is internalized, we can easily create very professional documents.
