The goal of this formula is to return “size” when given an animal and a weight. Note: this is an array formula and must be entered with Control + Shift + Enter, except in Excel 365. This snippet tests the values in B5:B10 to see if they match the value in G6 (the animal). Where there is a match, the corresponding values in C5:C11 are returned. If there is no match FALSE is returned. When G6 contains “cat”, the resulting array looks like this: This array is delivered directly to the MATCH function as the lookup_array. The lookup value for match comes from G7, which contains the weight (9 lbs in the example). Note that match is configured for approximate match by setting match_type to 1, and this requires that the values in C5:C11 must be sorted. MATCH returns the position of the weight in the array, and this is passed to the INDEX function as the row number. The lookup_array for INDEX are the sizes in D5:D10, so INDEX returns a size corresponding to the position generated by MATCH (the number 4 in the example shown).
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
