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Partial match with VLOOKUP in Excel

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This tutorial shows how to  calculate Partial match with VLOOKUP in Excel using the example below;

Formula

=VLOOKUP(value&"*",data,column,FALSE)

Explanation

If you want to retrieve information from a table based on a partial match, you can do so using VLOOKUP in exact match mode, and wildcards.

In the example shown, the VLOOKUP formula looks like this:

=VLOOKUP(val&"*",data,2,FALSE)

In this formula, val is a named range that refers to H2, and data is a named range that refers to B3:E102. Without named ranges, the formula could be written like this:

=VLOOKUP($H$2&"*",$B$3:$E$102,2,FALSE)

How this formula works

VLOOKUP supports wildcards, but only in “exact match” mode. To set exact match, make sure you supply the 4th argument as FALSE or 0.

Worked Example:   Group times into unequal buckets in Excel

In this case, we are supplying the lookup value as val&”*”, so if we type in a string like “Aya” into the named range val (H2), we are giving VLOOKUP “Aya*” as the lookup value.

Worked Example:   Exact match lookup with INDEX and MATCH in Excel

This will cause VLOOKUP to match the first entry in column B that begins with “Aya”.

Wildcard matching is convenient, because you don’t have to type in a full name, but note that you have to be careful of duplicates or near duplicates. For example, in the table there is a “Bailer” and a “Bailey” so typing “Bai” will give you the first match, even though there are two.

Worked Example:   VLOOKUP function: Description, Usage, Syntax, Examples and Explanation

Note: it’s important to require an exact match using FALSE or 0 for the last argument when using wildcards.

 

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