Real situations from working spreadsheets — sales targets, commission tiers, messy exports, aged invoices. Numbered in recommended order: start at 1 and work down, or filter to what you need.
11 exercises — Lookup & Reference
Read an error code as a diagnosis rather than a failure.
Match a customer ID against a reference table to return their region.
XLOOKUP
Use VLOOKUP with exact match to pull prices from a product table.
VLOOKUP
Combine INDEX and MATCH to look up a value without a fixed column number.
INDEX · MATCH
Match a weight to a rate band, where the weight will never appear in the table.
VLOOKUP
Return the campaign name behind the highest conversion count.
INDEX · MATCH · MAX
Identify the one situation VLOOKUP genuinely cannot handle.
VLOOKUP · XLOOKUP
Return a readable message instead of #N/A when a lookup finds nothing.
XLOOKUP
Use absolute references so a lookup does not break when copied down a column.
XLOOKUP
Look up a value that only exists two tables away from what you started with.
XLOOKUP
Return a name from one column based on a ranked value in another.
INDEX · MATCH · SMALL
| # | Exercise | Functions | Difficulty | Time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | What is Excel telling you with #N/A?Conceptual question — no dataset | — | Beginner | 3 min | 15 pts |
| 57 | Look up a customer's region with XLOOKUPHarbor Supply — orders plus a customer reference table | XLOOKUP | Intermediate | 8 min | 25 pts |
| 63 | Look up a unit price with VLOOKUPHarbor Supply — quote lines and product master | VLOOKUP | Intermediate | 8 min | 25 pts |
| 66 | Find a value with INDEX and MATCHHarbor Supply — commission rates by rep | INDEX · MATCH | Intermediate | 10 min | 25 pts |
| 67 | Look up a shipping band with VLOOKUPHarbor Supply — carrier rate card by weight band | VLOOKUP | Intermediate | 10 min | 30 pts |
| 68 | Name the best-performing campaignHarbor Supply — conversions by campaign, unsorted | INDEX · MATCH · MAX | Intermediate | 10 min | 30 pts |
| 69 | When can VLOOKUP not do the job?Conceptual question — no dataset | VLOOKUP · XLOOKUP | Intermediate | 3 min | 20 pts |
| 73 | Handle missing lookups gracefullyHarbor Supply — orders including a new customer | XLOOKUP | Advanced | 10 min | 40 pts |
| 74 | Lock ranges so a lookup survives fill-downHarbor Supply — orders and customer reference | XLOOKUP | Advanced | 12 min | 40 pts |
| 76 | Chain two lookups with XLOOKUPHarbor Supply — orders, customers and credit terms | XLOOKUP | Advanced | 13 min | 40 pts |
| 81 | Name the third-fastest supplierHarbor Supply — supplier lead times | INDEX · MATCH · SMALL | Advanced | 13 min | 40 pts |