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Excel Lookup and Reference Functions

Reference pages for lookup and reference formulas that find values, locate positions, and work with ranges in practical spreadsheets.

14 functions

CHOOSE

Lookup & Reference

2026-06-13

Return one value from a list by position number.

Syntax

CHOOSE(index_num, value1, [value2], ...)
Used in 1 articleView reference

COLUMN

Lookup & Reference

2026-06-13

Return the column number of a reference or of the cell that contains the formula.

Syntax

COLUMN([reference])
Used in 10 articlesView reference

FILTER

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return only the rows or columns in an array that meet criteria you define.

Syntax

FILTER(array, include, [if_empty])
Used in 3 articlesView reference

HLOOKUP

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Search across the top row of a table and return a value from a specified row underneath it.

Syntax

HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num, [range_lookup])
Used in 5 articlesView reference

INDEX

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return a value from a range by row number, column number, or both.

Syntax

INDEX(array, row_num, [column_num])
Used in 19 articlesView reference

INDIRECT

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return the reference specified by a text string, allowing dynamic cell and range references.

Syntax

INDIRECT(ref_text, [a1])
Used in 1 articleView reference

MATCH

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return the relative position of a value inside a row or column.

Syntax

MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])
Used in 16 articlesView reference

OFFSET

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return a reference shifted by a specified number of rows and columns from a starting point.

Syntax

OFFSET(reference, rows, cols, [height], [width])
Used in 16 articlesView reference

ROW

Lookup & Reference

2026-06-13

Return the row number of a reference or of the cell that contains the formula.

Syntax

ROW([reference])
Used in 8 articlesView reference

SORT

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Sort the contents of a range or array by one of its rows or columns.

Syntax

SORT(array, [sort_index], [sort_order], [by_col])
Used in 0 articlesView reference

SORTBY

Lookup & Reference

2026-06-13

Sort a range or array based on values in a separate range or array.

Syntax

SORTBY(array, by_array1, [sort_order1], [by_array2, sort_order2], ...)
Used in 0 articlesView reference

UNIQUE

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Return a list of distinct values from a range or array.

Syntax

UNIQUE(array, [by_col], [exactly_once])
Used in 0 articlesView reference

VLOOKUP

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-14

Search for a value in the first column of a table and return a value from the same row.

Syntax

VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
Used in 17 articlesView reference

XLOOKUP

Lookup & Reference

2026-03-18

Search a range or array for a match and return a corresponding item from a second range or array.

Syntax

XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array, [if_not_found], [match_mode], [search_mode])
Used in 10 articlesView reference

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