XLOOKUP is a new function in Excel that allows you to look up and retrieve data from a table or range. It’s a powerful tool that can help you save time and improve the accuracy of your data. In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive guide on how to use XLOOKUP, including examples and tips for maximizing its potential.

What is XLOOKUP

XLOOKUP is a function in Excel that allows you to look up and retrieve data from a table or range. It’s similar to the VLOOKUP function, but with some important improvements. The XLOOKUP function has a more flexible syntax, and it allows you to perform lookups on columns in either ascending or descending order.

How to use XLOOKUP

To use the XLOOKUP function, you need to specify four arguments:

1. lookup_value - This is the value that you want to look up in the table or range.
2. table_array - This is the table or range where you want to look up the data.
3. return_column - This is the column number in the table or range where you want to retrieve data.
4. match_type - This is an optional argument that determines how XLOOKUP matches the lookup value to the data in the table or range.

Here’s an example of how to use XLOOKUP: =XLOOKUP(A2,A4:C10,3,0)

In this example, the lookup_value is in cell A2, the table_array is A4:C10, the return_column is 3, and the match_type is 0, which means that XLOOKUP will perform an exact match.

Tips for maximizing XLOOKUP’s potential

1. Use XLOOKUP instead of VLOOKUP whenever possible.
2. Always use exact match when performing lookups on unique values.
3. Use approximate match when performing lookups on non-unique values.
4. Use the if_not_found argument to specify a value to return if the lookup value is not found.
5. Use XLOOKUP to perform lookups on columns in either ascending or descending order.

In conclusion, XLOOKUP is a powerful tool that can help you save time and improve the accuracy of your data. By following the tips and examples in this article, you’ll be able to use XLOOKUP like a pro.