If you are looking for some of the easiest ways to match multiple columns in Excel then you might find this article beneficial. Sometimes it becomes necessary to search out a specific value in multiple columns in Excel. But doing this manually becomes tedious and inefficient. So, to do this you can follow any of the methods below for matching multiple columns in Excel easily.
Here is an overview of this article.
Match Multiple Columns in Excel: 5 Suitable Ways
Let’s look at the table below. Here, I have used 5 columns named Location, Year, Fruits, Vegetables, and Sales. For any particular Fruits or Vegetables, you can use the following methods to match up other values corresponding to this Fruit or Vegetable from multiple columns.
Method-1: Use INDEX and MATCH functions on Multiple Columns
Suppose, I want to get the Sales value corresponding to each item in the Products column. To find this value you have to match up across multiple columns and use an Array formula.
This formula includes the COLUMN, TRANSPOSE, MMULT, MATCH, and INDEX functions.
Steps:
➤Select the output Cell G5.
➤Type the following formula.
=INDEX($D$5:$D$7,MATCH(1,MMULT(--($B$5:$C$7=F5),TRANSPOSE(COLUMN($B$5:$C$7)^0)),0))
➤Then, press ENTER to get the output.
Formula Breakdown
- –($B$5:$C$7=F5) → This will generate TRUE/ FALSE for every value in the range depending on the criteria whether it is met or not and then — will convert TRUE and FALSE into 1 and 0.
- Output: {1,0;0,0;0,0}
- TRANSPOSE(COLUMN($B$5:$C$7)^0) → COLUMN function will create an array with 2 columns and 1 row, and then TRANSPOSE function will convert this array to 1 column and 2 rows. Power zero will convert all of the values in the array to 1
- Output: {1;1}
- MATCH(1,MMULT(–($B$5:$C$7=F5),TRANSPOSE(COLUMN($B$5:$C$7)^0)),0) → The MMULT function will perform matrix multiplication between these two arrays. This result will be used by the MATCH function as the array argument with lookup value 1.
- Output: 1
- INDEX($D$5:$D$7,MATCH(1,MMULT(–($B$5:$C$7=F5),TRANSPOSE(COLUMN($B$5:$C$7)^0)),0)) → Finally, the INDEX function will return the corresponding value.
- Output: 2000
➤After that, drag down the Fill handle to AutoFill the formula.
For other versions except Microsoft 365, you have to press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTERÂ instead of pressing ENTER.
Method-2: Apply Array Formula to Match Multiple Criteria
For matching up multiple criteria in multiple columns and getting the value of Sales, you have to use an Array formula which includes the INDEX and MATCH functions.
Steps:
➤ First of all, select the output Cell H7
➤After that, write down the following formula in that cell.
=INDEX(F5:F11, MATCH(1, (H4=B5:B11) * (H5=C5:C11) * (H6=D5:D11), 0))
➤Then, press ENTER to get the output.
Formula Breakdown
- MATCH(1, (H4=B5:B11) * (H5=C5:C11) * (H6=D5:D11), 0) → Here, 1 is lookup value, H4, H5, H6 are the criterion which will be looked up in B5:B11, C5:C11, and D5:D11 ranges respectively and 0 is for an exact match.
- Output: 2
- INDEX(F5:F11, MATCH(1, (I4=B5:B11) * (I5=C5:C11) * (I6=D5:D11), 0)) → The INDEX function will give the corresponding value.
- Output: 1000
Method-3: Use Non-Array Formula to Match Multiple Criteria
For matching up multiple criteria in multiple columns and getting the value of Sales, you can use a Non- Array formula which includes the INDEX and MATCH functions.
Steps:
➤The first step is to select the output Cell H7.
➤After that, type the following formula
=INDEX(F5:F11, MATCH(1, INDEX((H4=B5:B11) * (H5=C5:C11) * (H6=D5:D11), 0, 1), 0))
➤Then, press ENTER to get the output.
Formula Breakdown
- INDEX((I4=B5:B11) * (I5=C5:C11) * (I6=D5:D11), 0, 1) → This is the lookup_array for the MATCH function.
- Output: {0;1;0;0;0;0;0}
- INDEX(F5:F11, MATCH(1, INDEX((I4=B5:B11) * (I5=C5:C11) * (I6=D5:D11), 0, 1), 0)) → This becomes,
- INDEX(F5:F11, MATCH(1, {0;1;0;0;0;0;0}, 0))
- Output: 1000
Method-4: Apply Array Formula to Match Multiple Criteria in Rows and Columns
Now, assume you want to match up criteria in both row-wise and column-wise. To do this, you have to use an Array formula which includes the INDEX and MATCH functions.
Steps:
➤Firstly, select the output Cell H8
➤Secondly, type the following formula
=INDEX(C6:E8, MATCH(H7,B6:B8,0), MATCH(H5&H6,C4:E4&C5:E5,0))
➤Then, press ENTER to get the output.
Formula Breakdown
- MATCH(H7, B6:B8,0) → This is used for row-wise matching.
- Output: 2
- MATCH(H5&H6, C4:E4&C5:E5,0) → This is used for column-wise matching.
- Output: 1
- INDEX(C6:E8, MATCH(H7,B6:B8,0), MATCH(H5&H6,C4:E4&C5:E5,0)) → This becomes,
- INDEX(C6:E8, 2, 1,0)
- Output: 1000
Method-5: Use VLOOKUP Function
Suppose, you want to know the corresponding Year, Location, and Sales value with respect to Banana. To get multiple values for one given data you have to use the VLOOKUP function.
Steps:
➤Select the 3 output cells simultaneously; C10, D10, E10
➤Then, type the following formula
=VLOOKUP(B10,B4:E7,{2,3,4},FALSE)
➤Then, press ENTER to get the output.
Formula Explanation
- Here, B10 is lookup_value
- B4:E7 is the table_array, {2,3,4} is the col_index_num
- FALSE is for the Exact match.
Download Excel Workbook
Conclusion
In this article, I tried to cover the easiest ways to match multiple columns in Excel effectively. Hope you will find it useful. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to share them with us.
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First method does not work for larger sets of data.
Hi Exceler,
Here, I tried the first method for 50 sets of data and it worked but you have to change the cell references based on your dataset. For your better understanding, I am attaching the images along with the formula.
=INDEX($D$5:$D$30,MATCH(1,MMULT(--($B$5:$C$30=F5),TRANSPOSE(COLUMN($B$5:$C$30)^0)),0))The images of datasets
Here, I used the formula for the entire dataset. I changed the references based on my dataset.
Output for 50 values:
Note: If your dataset is very large kindly send us your dataset
Thanks
Shamima Sultana
Method 1 is very useful!! Thanks!
Dear Excel Nob,
You are most welcome.
Regards
ExcelDemy