The MATCH Function
The MATCH function searches for a specified item in a range of cells, and then returns the relative position of that item in the range .
The MATCH function searches for a specified item in a range of cells, and then returns the relative position of that item in the range .
We have reached the end of our quest for the best lookup function, where we will talk about the combination of INDEX and MATCH. In the current lesson, we will use INDEX with dual MATCH functions, to achieve a matrix lookup functionality. But you can easily skip one of the two MATCH functions, and replace it with a static value if you are not interested in a matrix lookup.
We will continue our quest for the best lookup formula with another combination. We will use an OFFSET and two MATCH functions to do a matrix lookup. Unfortunately, this formula also only searches from the right column to the left and from the top to the bottom, but is very easy to understand and use.
We will begin a quest to find the best lookup function. All the internal functions of Excel have limitations which we will try to overcome. In this and the following tutorials, the knowledge of the simple syntax of the functions mentioned (VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, MATCH), is considered a requirement.
There is no way to create a powerful and versatile lookup formula without using at least once the MATCH function.