Excel: VLOOKUP & HLOOKUP Functions (Part 1)

VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP is an Excel function to look up data in a table organized vertically. VLOOKUP supports approximate and exact matching, and wildcards (?,*) for partial matches. Lookup values must appear in the first column of the table passed into VLOOKUP. When you use VLOOKUP, imagine that every column in the table is numbered, starting from the left. To get a value from a particular column, provide the appropriate number as the "column index". 

Arguments of VLOOKUP Function:

• lookup_value - The value to look for in the first column of a table.
• table_array - The table from which to retrieve a value.
• col_index_num - The column in the table from which to retrieve a value.
• range_lookup - TRUE or 1 = approximate match (default). FALSE or 0 = exact match.

HLOOKUP

HLOOKUP function in excel finds and retrieve a value from data in a horizontal table. The "H" in HLOOKUP stands for "horizontal", and Lookup values must appear in the first row of the table, moving horizontally to the right. HLOOKUP supports approximate and exact matching, and wildcards (?,*) for finding partial matches. HLOOKUP searches for a value in the first row of a table. When it finds a match, it retrieves a value at that column from the row given. Use HLOOKUP when lookup values are located in the first row of a table. HLOOKUP has similar arguments as VLOOKUP. The only diffrent is "row_index_num" instead of "col_index_num".