{"id":491,"date":"2025-07-15T13:34:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T13:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/functiontranslator.com\/2021\/02\/12\/xlookup\/"},"modified":"2021-02-13T11:37:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T11:37:02","slug":"xlookup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/functiontranslator.com\/en\/xlookup\/","title":{"rendered":"XLOOKUP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, let’s dive into the capabilities of a powerful Excel and Google Sheets function known as XLOOKUP. XLOOKUP is designed to search through a range or array and returns the corresponding item from the first match it finds. This function serves as a modern replacement for older functions like VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and LOOKUP, providing greater flexibility and user-friendliness.<\/p>\n

Basic Syntax<\/h2>\n

The fundamental syntax of the XLOOKUP function is:<\/p>\n

XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array, [if_not_found], [match_mode], [search_mode])<\/code><\/pre>\n
Here\u2019s a detailed explanation of the parameters:<\/p>\n
    \n
  • lookup_value:<\/strong> The value you are searching for.<\/li>\n
  • lookup_array:<\/strong> The array or range to perform the search in.<\/li>\n
  • return_array:<\/strong> The array or range from which to retrieve the result.<\/li>\n
  • if_not_found (optional):<\/strong> Specifies a value to return if the search does not find a match.<\/li>\n
  • match_mode (optional):<\/strong> This can be set to 0 for an exact match, -1 for an exact match or the next smaller item, or 1 for an exact match or the next larger item.<\/li>\n
  • search_mode (optional):<\/strong> Designates the search order; 1 for searching from first to last, -1 for last to first, or 2 for a binary search.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Example 1: Simple XLOOKUP<\/h2>\n
    Consider a list of employees and their respective salaries. We need to find the salary of an employee named John using XLOOKUP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Employee<\/th>\nSalary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    John<\/td>\n50000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Alice<\/td>\n60000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bob<\/td>\n45000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n
    Formula: =XLOOKUP(\"John\", A2:A4, B2:B4)<\/code><\/p>\n
    This formula successfully returns John’s salary as $50,000.<\/p>\n
    Example 2: XLOOKUP with Default Value<\/h2>\n
    If a search doesn\u2019t yield a result, you can set a default return value. Let’s update our previous example for an employee named David:<\/p>\n
    Formula: =XLOOKUP(\"David\", A2:A4, B2:B4, \"Not found\")<\/code><\/p>\n
    This formula will return “Not found” as David is not listed among the employees.<\/p>\n
    Example 3: Using XLOOKUP with Match Modes<\/h2>\n
    You can fine-tune the behavior of your XLOOKUP query with match modes. Suppose we want to find the closest salary to a certain amount not present in our array:<\/p>\n
    Formula: =XLOOKUP(55000, B2:B4, A2:A4, , 1)<\/code><\/p>\n
    This query returns “Alice” because $55,000 falls between John’s and Alice’s salaries, making hers the next higher match.<\/p>\n
    Conclusion<\/h2>\n
    XLOOKUP greatly simplifies the process of searching for and retrieving data in Excel and Google Sheets. With its flexible and powerful options, it can accommodate a variety of lookup scenarios with ease, significantly enhancing data manipulation and retrieval tasks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    Searches a range or an array, and returns\u00a0an item\u00a0corresponding\u00a0to the\u00a0first match it finds If a match doesn’t exist,\u00a0then XLOOKUP can return the\u00a0closest (approximate) match<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[200],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lookup-and-reference"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExcel XLOOKUP Function \u2013 How It Works, Formula Examples and Syntax<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what the Excel XLOOKUP function does. 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