a column or row that holds identical data, depending on whether you want to perform a vertical or horizontal lookup. Your lookup table and main table may have different structure and size, however they should always contain at least one common unique identifier, i.e. Main table (master table) - a table into which you pull matching values. In terms of this tutorial, an Excel lookup table is nothing else but a range of cells where you search for a lookup value. In computer science, a lookup table is an array of data, which is generally used to map input values to output values. Return value (matching value or match) - a value at the same position as the lookup value but in another column or row (depending on whether you do vertical or horizontal lookup). Lookup - searching for a specified value in a table of data. Sequential Vlookups from multiple sheetsīefore we dive into the arcane twists of Excel Lookup formulas, let's define the key terms to ensure that we are always on the same page.On this page, you will find a list of the most essential Excel Lookup functions with formula examples and in-depth tutorials linked for your reference. There reason is that the term "lookup" may denote a variety of different things: you can look vertically in a column, horizontally in a row or at the intersection of a row and column, search with one or several criteria, return the first found match or multiple matches, do a case-sensitive or case-insensitive lookup, and so on. And yet, there exists no "universal" lookup formula suited for all situations. Looking up a specific value within a dataset is one of the most common tasks in Excel. The tutorial explains the basics of Lookup in Excel, shows the strengths and weaknesses of each Excel Lookup function and provides a number of examples to help you decide which lookup formula is best to be used in a particular situation.