[mso] Comparable data formats in Excel VLOOKUP
- From: Peggy Knesebeck <pknesebeck@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: MicroSoft list serve <mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 16:59:48 -0500
I am having trouble comparing values within a cell in Excel when doing VLOOKUP.
When we download data from our system into Excel, account numbers load with
green triangles in the upper left corner of the cell. When I try to reformat
the cell through the edit mode, it doesn't change that flag, or change it to a
format I can use to compare values. The only way I can get it to work, is to
go into the table that is being used as the lookup table, and change those
cells individually to text by inserting an apostrophe in front of the value.
(I am usually dealing with a large volume of data, so treating each cell
individually in not realistic.) If I try to format it to text under the edit
option, it still will not change it to a format recognizable for the comparison
purpose. I've copied a sample below to demonstrate. You can see in D8, when
I put an apostrophe in front of the value, it gives the comparable green
triangle and returns a lookup value. The rest of the data in column D is
formated as number, as is the data in column A. However, they are not
comparable.
I have 2 questions:
1. Is there a way to reformat a large range of cells to a number format that
will be recognizable for comparison purposes in a VLOOKUP?
2. Is there a way to go into a large range of cells and insert an apostrophe
in front of the value in the lookup table, so they would be comparable in a
VLOOKUP?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Lookup Table
Data
VLOOKUP
POCA
FS Item
POCA
Amt
Return FSItem
3000000
130390
3000000
$ 1,500.00
130390
3000001
130390
3000000
#N/A
3000002
130390
3020002
#N/A
3000003
130390
3020002
$ -
#N/A
3000004
130390
3020002
$ 1,621,076.38
#N/A
3000005
130390
3020101
$ -
#N/A
3000006
130390
3020101
$ 142,722.77
#N/A
3000007
130390
3050001
$ -
#N/A
3000008
130390
3050001
$ 900,436.87
#N/A
3000009
130390
3050002
$ -
#N/A
3000101
130390
3050002
$ 620,922.08
#N/A
3000102
130390
3050007
$ 2,062,563.85
#N/A
3000103
130390
3050007
#N/A
3000108
130390
3050007
$ -
#N/A
3000109
130390
3050007
$ 2,062,563.85
#N/A
3000113
130390
3090000
$ 7,199.30
#N/A
3000114
130390
3090000
$ -
#N/A
3000115
130390
3090000
$ 9,842.00
#N/A
3000117
130390
3000120
130390
3000135
130390
3000136
130390
3000140
130390
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