Try this.
In G1:G5 type b, i, s, r
In G1 type bank, insurance, stockbroker, retailer
In A1 type b
In B1 enter this formula =VLOOKUP(A1,G1:G5,2,FALSE)
It should return <bank
The other letters in A1
Read Help for VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP
best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
www.stfx.ca/people/bliengme
remove caps from email

"Jan K" <Jan wrote in message
...
How do I insert a reference code in one column which will then look up a
reference table and then insert the name in the next column. eg if I type
the
letter b in column 1 then the word 'bank' will appear in column 2. If I
type
the letter i in column 1 then the word 'insurance' will appear in column 2
etc etc