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Stop 02 · Excel & SpreadsheetsTopics · 2/10

Formulas & Functions (VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, XLOOKUP)

Part of the Data Analyst Roadmap

In short

Lookup functions let you pull matching data from another table — VLOOKUP is the classic, INDEX-MATCH is more flexible, and XLOOKUP (in modern Excel) is the simpler, more powerful replacement for both.

How to learn this

  1. 1Practice the same lookup with all 3 functions on the same dataset.
  2. 2Learn why VLOOKUP breaks when columns are inserted, and why INDEX-MATCH/XLOOKUP don't.
  3. 3Memorize XLOOKUP's argument order — it'll be your default once you know it.

More topics at this stop

Excel FundamentalsPivotTables & PivotChartsConditional FormattingData Cleaning in ExcelExcel Charts & DashboardsPower QueryGoogle Sheets EssentialsData Validation in SpreadsheetsExcel Shortcuts & Productivity

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