In VLOOKUP, which argument determines whether to require an exact match rather than an approximate match?

In VLOOKUP, which argument determines whether to require an exact match rather than an approximate match?

• A. Range_lookup
• B. FALSE
• C. Lookup_value
• D. Col_index_num

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the last parameter of VLOOKUP determines whether you want an exact match or an approximate one. That parameter is called range_lookup. If you set range_lookup to FALSE, VLOOKUP will require an exact match and return an error if it doesn’t find one. If you omit this parameter or set it to TRUE, VLOOKUP performs an approximate match, which assumes the first column is sorted in ascending order and returns the closest match when an exact one isn’t found. The other arguments—lookup_value (what you’re searching for), table_array (where you search), and col_index_num (which column to return from)—do not control the match type. If you specifically want an exact match, you’d supply FALSE for the range_lookup argument.

The key idea is that the last parameter of VLOOKUP determines whether you want an exact match or an approximate one. That parameter is called range_lookup. If you set range_lookup to FALSE, VLOOKUP will require an exact match and return an error if it doesn’t find one. If you omit this parameter or set it to TRUE, VLOOKUP performs an approximate match, which assumes the first column is sorted in ascending order and returns the closest match when an exact one isn’t found. The other arguments—lookup_value (what you’re searching for), table_array (where you search), and col_index_num (which column to return from)—do not control the match type. If you specifically want an exact match, you’d supply FALSE for the range_lookup argument.