Sorry, I misread your question. To prevent data being returned when the
code isn't an exact match with an entry in the table, you could use
INDEX/MATCH, instead of VLOOKUP. For example:

=INDEX($B$2:$B$13,MATCH(TRUE,EXACT(D3,$A$2:$A$13), 0))

entered as an array formula (Ctrl+Shift+Enter)

In this example, the codes are in A2:A13, the number to return are in
B2:B13, and the lookup value is in cell D3.

If the table contains 200x16fl, an entry of 200*16fl in cell D3 will
return #N/A, as will 200X16fl (X is not an exact match to x).

Or, instead of letting the user type a value to match, you could use
data validation to provide a dropdown list of values from the lookup table.

Clarence Crow wrote:
On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 18:52:07 -0500, Debra Dalgleish
staggered out of the wildeness and
muttered:


Instead of 200*16fl, use 200~*16fl
and the VLookup should work correctly.
<snip

Not a solution or even an explanation, but a "workaround" by
introducing yet another character.

Turn in ya badge LOL



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Debra Dalgleish
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