What does the VLOOKUP function do in Excel?

The VLOOKUP function in Excel is specifically designed to search for a value in the first column of a specified table or range and then returns a value from the same row in a specified column. This function is particularly useful for looking up data based on a unique identifier, such as a product ID or employee number, and then pulling corresponding information, like prices or names, from the same row of that table.

For example, if you have a table of product information where the first column contains product IDs and the subsequent columns contain product names and prices, you can use VLOOKUP to find the price of a given product by inputting its ID. By specifying which column to return data from, VLOOKUP enables users to efficiently interact with large datasets, enhancing productivity and accuracy in data analysis.

This function does not sort data or compute averages; it is solely focused on searching for a specific value and retrieving related information.