Vlookups - Order of Columns

[triggerthat]

Is it possible to do a vlookup on a table where the col_index_number is the last column but you want to return a column before it?

 

[Pho]

=INDEX($A$7:$A$9,MATCH(A2,$B$7:$B$9,0))

Which is:

MATCH(A2,$B$7:$B$9,0)

Tells you which row of your array (B7:B9) the value A2 exists in.

=INDEX($A$7:$A$9,MATCH(A2,$B$7:$B$9,0))

Reads the row of your description array (A7:A9) where the match was



BTW you should use $A$6:$B:$9 for the VLOOKUP range - if you don't put the dollar in then when you drag the formula down excel auto-increments the numbers. Line 4 is doing a lookup from A8:B11!

 

[HungryHippos]

Might seem crazy, but I normally just cut and paste the column so it's on the left side of whatever I'm returning with a VLOOKUP!