BTA3O1 – Productivity Software – Unit 2: Spreadsheet – Part

BTA3O1 – Productivity Software – Unit 2: Spreadsheet – Part 5: The VLOOKUP Function – Page 1 of 13

MS EXCEL 2003

VLOOKUP

THE VLOOKUP FUNCTION

A. Background Reading

Notes:The VLOOKUP function allows you to search for a value in one table and return a value or label from the table to a cell in the spreadsheet. The VLOOKUP function could be used to:

• Price items based upon quantity sold• Convert a student’s percent to a letter grade• Assign commission rates based upon products sold• Assign an income tax rate based upon level of income

Parts of the VLOOKUP Function:

= VLOOKUP(VALUE, TABLE LOCATION, COLUMN)

The way VLOOKUP works is as follows:• It takes the lookup value and compares it to each number in the first

column of the lookup table, beginning at the top of the column

• If it finds an exact match, it moves to the second column and returns that value to the cell

• If there is no exact match, it goes down the first column of the lookup table until it finds the first number larger than the lookup value

• It then moves up one row, moves to the column to the right and returns the value

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Unit 2: Spreadsheet – Part 5: The VLOOKUP Function – Page 1 of 13

The value you want to find a match for in the VLOOKUP table

The location of the VLOOKUP table you created. Use an absolute cell reference for this location in the function.

The number of the column containing the matching value that you want returned. Usually this is 2


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Background Reading: Converting Student Percentages to Letter Grades

The illustration below shows a VLOOKUP table for converting student marks from percentages to letter grades according to a possible system of equivalences (used in some U.S. schools).

The VLOOKUP function showing in the formula bar works as follows:

• B2 tells the function to compare cell B2 to the first column of the lookup table• $D$2:$E$14 tells the function where the lookup table is located (notice that it does not include the titles). • The function takes the value 98, compares it to the first cell in the first column of lookup table, detects that 98 is larger than 0, so advances down to the next cell of the table. Again it detects that 98 is larger than 60, so it advances downward again. It repeats this process until it finds a value in the table that is equal to 98. In our example, it finds that cell D14 in the table is equal to 98. The function then looks at its third parameter.• 2 tells the function to return whatever is in the second column of the lookup table. In our example, the cell in question, E14, contains A+, so the function enters A+ in its target cell C2.• In our example, the function found an exact match between the first parameter, B2, and a cell in the lookup table, D14. But what happens when the function doesn’t find an exact match? It continues down the leftmost column of the table until it detects a value greater than B2. Then it moves back up to the previous cell in the table.

This lookup table shows values for the temperature and viscosity of air at 1 atm air pressure.

• the function =VLOOKUP(1,A2:C10,2) looks up 1 in column A, and returns the value from column B in the same row (2.17)



This page is introductory reading only. There is no hands-on exercise for you to do.


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Study this worksheet. Can you explain the results in B8 and B9?


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Exercises —

Ex. 1 A walk-through example

1. Open a new workbook named Excel_vlookup_ex5a.xls with 2 worksheets. Right-click on the worksheet tabs at the bottom of the Excel screen to rename Sheet 1 as Data and Sheet 2 as Suppliers.

One useful feature of VLOOKUP is that it allows you to point multiple worksheets and cells to one lookup list.

2. Create the lookup list in the Suppliers worksheet as below.

3. Next set up the Data worksheet.

4. Note that the Supplier ID and Supplier Name fields are repeated in this sheet. We will enter the Supplier ID only; VLOOKUP will automatically enter the Supplier Name.

5. Add some sample data.

6. Enter 103 into E2.

7. Click in F2. We’ll use VLOOKUP to get the Supplier Name.




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8. Enter the VLOOKUP function by clicking on the down arrow next to the AutoSum button ∑ on the Standard toolbar. Select More Functions. The Insert Function dialog box opens.

9. Type vlookup into the box labeled Search for a function.

10. Click on Go.

11. Select VLOOKUP.

12. Click OK. The Function Arguments dialog box opens.

Pause to read the description of how the VLOOKUP function works near the bottom of the dialogue box.




MS EXCEL 2003

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13. In the dialogue box labeled Lookup_value enter E2 (that is, the cell holding the Supplier ID).

Or you can click on the small red arrow, select E2, then press Enter.

Here’s how VLOOKUP will work. It will

i. compare the contents of E2 . . .

ii. with the first column (Supplier ID) of the lookup table, then . . .

iii. input the Supplier Name that’s paired with the ID into the current cell (that is, the cell where you’re putting the function) or F2.

14. Table_array is the lookup table.

i. Click on the red arrow in the bottom corner of the table_array box

ii. Click on the Suppliers sheet.

iii. Select A2:B7.

15. Col_index_number indicates the column of your lookup table that you want entered into the current cell. In this case it is the Supplier Name data which is the second column of the lookup table. (Note: Usually we use 2 for column index number. Later you will learn about when to use other column numbers.)

i. Type 2 in the box.

16. In the Range_lookup box

i. Type the word false.

The purpose of false is made clearer in the Enrichment section below. However, to explain briefly, this ensures that VLOOKUP searches for an exact match, not merely a close match.

17. Click on OK.

The formula bar for cell F2 shows the following:

=VLOOKUP(E2,Suppliers!A2:B7,2,FALSE)

Notice the exclamation mark after Suppliers, indicating the name of the second worksheet.

18. Press F4 to make the lookup table references absolute.

Important: If you are going to copy a VLOOKUP function to other cells, be careful to make the cell references for the lookup table absolute. The location of the lookup table does not change.

19. Copy the VLOOKUP function from F2 to F3:F7.




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20. Test it by entering in E3:E8 the following SupplierID numbers:

i. 103, 105, 101, 104, 102, 106.

Look at the Suppliers sheet. See whether the correct supplier names have been input into F3:F7.




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Ex. 2 Using VLOOKUP to convert a student’s mark to a letter grade

A school might assign criteria for letter grades as follows:

A mark of less than 50 receives a letter grade of F, 50 or more but less than 60 receives a D, 60 or more but less than 70 receives a C, 70 or more but less than 80 receives a B, 80 or more but less than 90 receives an A, and 90 or more receives an A+.

We might express that as follows:

50>mark F

60>mark>=50 D

70>mark>=60 C

80>mark>=70 B

90>mark>=80 A

A+ mark>90 A+

First a VLOOKUP table is created using given criteria (see below, A2:B7)

Then the VLOOKUP function is added to the spreadsheet to create the conversion

A B C D E F

1VLOOKUP

TABLEJane’s

Marks

VLOOKUP function syntax created in cells E3:E5

2 0 F Percent Letter Grade

3 50 D 78 B =VLOOKUP(D3, $A$2:$B$7,2)

4 60 C 65 C =VLOOKUP(D4, $A$2:$B$7,2)

5 70 B 92 A+ =VLOOKUP(D5, $A$2:$B$7,2)

6 80 A

7 90 A+

1. Read and review the VLOOKUP function theory on the first page.

2. Open a new worksheet named Excel_vlookup_ex2.xls.

3. Duplicate the spreadsheet cells of A1:D7 as illustrated. Do NOT copy column F; it is there only to help you.

4. In cell E3, add the VLOOKUP function shown in F3. (You may use the Paste Function button, or select Insert / Function, or type into the cell, or type into the formula bar.)



Our job is to turn information given to us in this form into a VLOOKUP table.

Note:

It is usually your job to figure out how to set up your lookup table. The information you will be given is normally in English or in mathematical form as in this example.


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5. Copy the function down to cells E4:E5. Your Column E should look like the illustration.

6. Save the file.

Ex. 3 Using VLOOKUP to assign a discount for quantity purchases

For a series of purchases by customers, we want to enter the number of units sold, and have Excel automatically give us a price per unit. The price will vary according to how many units are sold. We’ll use a quantity discount table and the VLOOKUP function.

1. Create the Discount Price Table to be used in the VLOOKUP function (see illustration).

i. Purchases of 1-49 units have a per unit price of $10.00

ii. At 50-99 units, the price drops to $9.50.

iii. At 100-199 units the price is $9.00

iv. Over 200 units the price is $8.50.

2. Save as Excel_vlookup_ex3.xls

3. Create the Sales Summary section below the Discount Price Table as illustrated.

4. In B9 enter a VLOOKUP function to return the price to the spreadsheet as follows:

The function will look up the value of 50 from cell A9 in the Discount Price Table $A$2:$B$5 and return the price of $9.50 from the second column of the VLOOKUP table to cell B9.

5. Copy the VLOOKUP function from B9 to B10:B18. Since the table reference in our function is absolute ($A$2:$B$5 ) we can copy the function down the column.

6. Format the column to show currency and 2 decimals.

7. Enter a formula to calculate Total Sales which is simply Units Sold times Price.

8. Format the column to show currency and 2 decimals.

9. Print two copies (these two printouts will be useful for study and review purposes):

i. the selection range of A7:C18 (excluding the VLOOKUP table) showing values and formatting, centered vertically and horizontally on the page.

ii. the entire spreadsheet showing formulas, on a single page, showing gridlines and row & column headings



Requirements for this type of Vlookup Table:

• Numbers in first column must be in ascending order

• no duplications.


MS EXCEL 2003

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Be careful to understand the difference between -

discount rate

a percentage such as 15%

Example: =VLOOKUP(1,A2:C10,2)

Our exercises have used VLOOKUP to find a discount rate.

discount amount

a dollar figure such as $48.35, resulting from a calculation using the discount rate

In a single formula we can calculate the discount amount. We can use VLOOKUP to find a rate, then multiply the result by a cell holding the sales amount.

Example: =VLOOKUP(1,A2:C10,2) * D2




MS EXCEL 2003

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Ex. 4 Practice

Overview: You have recently been hired by Fast Air Service as Area Sales Manager for the Southern Ontario region. At the end of the month one of your jobs is to calculate the salary of your salespeople. Your boss wants you to do it by creating an Excel template, using the VLOOKUP function, so that you can quickly calculate your department’s monthly salary at the end of every month.

Additional Information:

• The monthly salary for each salesperson includes a base salary of $2,000 plus a commission amount based upon their monthly sales figure.

• Commission rate scale:

Monthly Sales Commission Rate

Less than $5000 0%

$5000 to $7499.99 5%

$7500 to $9999.99 7.5%

$10000 to $14999.99 10%

Greater than $15000 15%

• Sales personnel by area

Sales Representative Area Office

Jonathan Small Mississauga

Ida Fung East York

Yves St. James Toronto

Parminder Singh Scarborough

Donna Cooke Hamilton

Glenn Bracey London

1. Create an Excel template to calculate the monthly salary amounts for each sales representative in your area. Include in the spreadsheet:

• Main title (e.g. Fast Air Service, Southern Ontario)

• Sub title (Sales Department Monthly Report)

• Column headings of “Sales Representative”, “Area Office”, “Monthly Sales Amount”, “Base Salary”, “Commission Rate”, “Commission Amount” and “Total Monthly Salary”

• Use the VLOOKUP function to return the Commission Rate to the spreadsheet. Create the VLOOKUP table using the Commission rate scale information above. (Note: Your task is to read the




MS EXCEL 2003

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descriptions in the table above and use them to create a lookup table.)

• Create formulae to calculate the Commission Amount and Total Monthly Salary

2. Save the file as a template named Excel_vlookup_template_ex4.xlt

3. Use the template file three times to create a workbook name Excel_vlookup_April.xls to calculate the Monthly Salary for all six salespeople for April, another workbook named Excel_vlookup_May.xls for May and a third workbook named Excel_vlookup_June.xls for June. Use the data below.

Monthly Sales Amount by Sales Representative

Sales Representative April May June

Jonathan Small $6190.00 $8400.00 $7500.00

Ida Fung $7820.00 $4600.00 $10500.00

Yves St. James $5000.00 $8800.00 $7500.00

Parminder Singh $9150.00 $6500.00 $17500.00

Donna Cooke $10200.00 $6600.00 $2500.00

Glenn Bracey $4500.00 $16000.00 $9500.00

4. Create a Quarterly Salary Summary for the months of April, May and June. Use the linking feature you learned earlier. Include in the linked spreadsheet:

• Main title

• Sub title

• Column headings of • Sales Representative • Area Office • Total Monthly Salary - April • Total Monthly Salary - May • Total Monthly Salary - June

5. Save the linked file as Excel5_vlookup_salessummary.xls




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EnrichmentThe section below is for students who have finished their work before the rest of the class. It will give you a higher level of expertise with Microsoft Word 2003.

This material will not appear on tests.




MS EXCEL 2003

VLOOKUP

Using the “false” parameter

In the last few exercises we focused on VLOOKUP when

• the lookup table is arranged in sequence from lowest to highest, and

• the value you give to the function may not exactly match a number in the table—forexample when a student's mark is 76 and your table shows 60, 70, 80, etc. but not76.

But what happens when data in the table is not arranged in sequence, or when you want the function to give a result only for an exact match? The VLOOKUP function offers an additional parameter, FALSE, to deal with these cases.

Ex. 5 Returning only exact matches with VLookup

Consider a table with the data in numerical sequence but where you want returns for only exact matches. A good example would be a table of data on students, with the first column holding student numbers, the next column holding telephone numbers, and further data in additional columns. See illustration.

You want to match the student number to other information. However, you certainly do not want "approximate" results, that is, the lookup function returning results for a student whose student number is less than the number you are trying to match. You want only exact matches.

1. Create an Excel worksheet named Excel_vlookup_5.xls as illustrated.

2. In B11 enter a VLOOKUP function.

i. the lookup value is A11

ii. the Table Array is $A$2:$C$5 (remember with VLOOKUP to use absolute cell addresses for the location of the table)

iii. the Column Index Number is 2

iv. Click on OK. The student name Yukio Tojo will appear in B11.

3. Copy down the function to B12 and B13.

4. In A14 enter the following number, which does not represent a real student in the table:309799001.




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5. Copy down the function in B13 to B14. Do you understand why B14 shows the name YukioTojo even though 309799001 is not her student number?

(Answer: VLOOKUP worked by looking down column A of the lookup table until it found a number larger than the given number, 309799001. It stopped at that position, A5, then moved back up one position to A4 and returned data from the second column, which you specified in the function.)

6. Now copy down the function in C13 to C14. Notice whose telephone number appears in C14.Can you explain why VLOOKUP returned that telephone number?

The FALSE Parameter — By adding a fourth "parameter" to the VLOOKUP function, we can avoid the problem of an inaccurate results. The parameter FALSE forces VLOOKUP to return only exact matches, giving an error message when no exact match can be found.

7. Click in cell B11.

8. In the formula bar add FALSE to the function as follows:=VLOOKUP(A11,$A$2:$C$5,2, FALSE) .

9. Press Enter.

10. CopyB11 down to B12:B14.

11. An error message appears in B14. Why is this the result you want?

12. Click in cell C11.

13. In the formula bar add FALSE to the function as follows:=VLOOKUP(A11,$A$2:$C$5,3,FALSE).

14. Press Enter.

15. CopyC11downtoC12:C14.

11. An error message appears in C14. Why is this the result you want?

Ex. 6 Using VLOOKUP tables that are not in sequential order

Another situation where you want VLOOKUP to find only an exact match is when the data in the first column is not in ascending (sequential) order. The example we considered above was a table of student information arranged in sequence by student number. Let’s see what happens if the data is not in order by student number.

1. Save a second copy of the worksheet created above as Excel_vlookup_ex6.xls

2. Delete the VLOOKUP functions in B11:C14.

3. Highlight the lookup table A2:C5.




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4. Select Data / Sort / Sort by: Name (Col. B) to re-sort the data so that it is not in order by student number.

5. In B11 enter the VLOOKUP function as earlier, with no FALSE parameter.

6. In C11 enter the VLOOKUP function as earlier, with no FALSE parameter.

7. Copy down B11:C11 to B12:C14.

8. Are the results correct? Can you explain them?

9. In B11 and C11 edit the functions by adding the FALSE parameter.

10. Copy down B11:C11 to B12:C14.

11. Are the results correct now? Can you explain them all, including B14 and C14?




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BONUS ASSIGNMENT 1

Create an order form for Toronto Discount Computer Land

You are the manager of a computer warehouse, Toronto Discount Computer Land, selling hardware to small computer stores. When companies buy in bulk, they qualify for discounts up to 33%. Because your prices change regularly, it is important that your 'data table' be updated easily, and the resulting invoice reflects these changes.

You will design a spreadsheet (see below) that consists of a 'master lookup table' containing your current price sheet, followed by an actual Order Form for the client.

N.B. The user will be required to enter only two pieces of information in the Order Form, namely the Quantity and Item Number. The remainder of the Order Form will fill in automatically (via your formulas).




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BONUS ASSIGNMENT 2

Create a VLOOKUP table with more than 2 columns

Below is an Excel worksheet that helps a shipping clerk decide the best method of delivering a shipment based on its weight. When the clerk enters the weight of the shipment in C13 or below, the worksheet automatically determines the cost of shipping by courier (D13), the lowest shipping cost (E13), and the best mode based on the shipping cost (F13).

Follow the example to create a worksheet named Excel5_B2.xls. Add the required VLOOKUP functions in D13:F15. Note: In this example the third parameter of the VLOOKUP function will not always be 2.



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BTA3O1 – Productivity Software – Unit 2: Spreadsheet – Part