How about just using the adjacent cell to show the description. Then you could
use a =vlookup() formula:

=if(a2="","",vlookup(a2,sheet2!a:b,2,false))

If you've never used =vlookup(), visit Debra Dalgleish's site:
http://www.contextures.com/xlFunctions02.html
for nice instructions.

Rani wrote:

hi guys, I am a sort of newbie with excel.

I have 2 spreadsheets which I inherited from the previous IT manager.

1. master spreadsheet

2. Ref spreadsheet

within the master spreadsheet I have few columns, one of them represent
engine code.

within the ref spreadsheet I have a description of that code.

what I would like to do is to create a macro within the master spreadsheet
that will look for the value in the ref spreadsheet and will replace the
code with the value.

any idea ?

--

Dave Peterson