How to Use VLookup in Excel 2003

1. Open the Excel 2003 file that contains the data table that you want to work with.
2. Select the top-left cell of the data table and hold down the mouse button. Move the mouse to the bottom-right cell and select it. Click the 'Data' menu at the top of the screen and select 'Sort.' Select 'Ascending' to sort the information from smallest to largest. The first column has to be sequential in order for VLookup to work.
3. Select any cell outside of the data table. Press the '=' key to start your formula. Type 'vlookup('. The open parenthesis is required to begin entering arguments.
4. Type in the value that you want to search for, or a reference to a particular cell in the first column. If you are searching for a text string, wrap the text in double quotes. You may include '?' and '*' as wildcards. '?' will replace any one value, while '*' will replace any string of values. If you need to search for a question mark or an asterisk specifically, precede the character with a tilde. Remember that VLookup will only search in the first column of your data table. Press the comma key when you are done.
5. Click on the top-left cell of the table and hold down the mouse button. Drag your mouse to the bottom-right cell of the table and release the button. You will see those two cells appear in your formula bar. Press the comma key.
6. Press the number key that corresponds to the column where your desired result resides. Columns in the table are numbered starting from the left and counting up by one for each column. If you enter '3' here, VLookup will find your value in the first column, then give you whatever is in that same row in the third column. While you may enter '1' here, VLookup will return the value that you searched for. Press the comma key.
7. Enter the word 'false' if you want VLookup to find an exact match for your search value in the first column. If you only want to find an approximate match, erase the last comma that you entered, as this command is optional and searching for an approximate match is the default setting. If you search for an approximate match, VLookup will use the next largest value if it cannot find an exact match. Type in a close parenthesis and press the Enter key to complete the process.