HLOOKUP() Function

Excel HLOOKUP function is best suited for situations when you are looking for a matching data point in a row, and when the matching data point is found, you go down that column and fetch a value from a cell which is specified a number of rows below the top row.

When to use Excel HLOOKUP Function

Excel HLOOKUP function is best suited for situations when you are looking for a matching data point in a row, and when the matching data point is found, you go down that column and fetch a value from a cell which is specified number of rows below the top row.

What it Returns

It returns the specified matching value.

Syntax

= HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num, [range_lookup])

Input Arguments

• lookup_value – this is the look-up value that you are looking for in the first row of the table. It could be a value, a cell reference, or a text string.
• table_array – this is the table in which you are looking for the value. This could be a reference to a range of cells or a named range.
• row_index – this is the row number from which you want to fetch the matching value. If row_index is 1, the function would return the lookup value (as it is in the 1st row). If row_index is 2, the function would return the value from the row just below the lookup value.
• [range_lookup] – (Optional) here you specify whether you want an exact match or an approximate match. If omitted, it defaults to TRUE – approximate match (see additional notes below).

Additional Notes

• The match could be exact (FALSE or 0 in range_lookup) or approximate (TRUE or 1).
• In approximate lookup, make sure that the list is sorted in ascending order(left to right), or else the result could be inaccurate.
• When range_lookup is TRUE (approximate lookup) and data is sorted in ascending order:
• If the HLOOKUP function can not find the value, it returns the largest value, which is less than the lookup_value.
• It returns a #N/A error if the lookup_value is smaller than the smallest value.
• If lookup_value is text, wildcard characters can be used (refer to the example below).