Actually Gord, as long as:

<Tools <Options <Calculation tab,
"Accept Labels In Formulas" *IS* checked.

No additional names need to be created.

A formula containing the existing cities from the grid will return the
values.

=row_city col_city

will work, with the exception of both names being the same.

Also, has to be on the same sheet as the grid.

Your suggestion enables the formulas to work on *other* sheets, but problem
comes in when the grid has duplicate names in the columns and rows.
Makes it necessary (as I see you described ... Quebec, Quebec1), to assign
"false" names to the row or the column cities.

However, what I described, and what you described, does not do what the OP
has requested, namely, returning grid values in a column adjoining 2 columns
containing 2 city names.
It's doubtful that he wants the users to actually enter formulas, no matter
how concise they may be (though I could be wrong).

So, using your 'name create' procedure for the grid on Sheet2, with "false"
names in the duplicate column cities (say "1" appended),
AND ... the user being told to enter on Sheet1,
in A1 and B1:

City1 City

Then in C1 we can try this:

=INDIRECT(A1&":"&A1) INDIRECT(B1&":"&B1)

Note the <space between the Indirects.
--

Regards,

RD
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Please keep all correspondence within the Group, so all may benefit !
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"Gord Dibben" <gorddibbATshawDOTca wrote in message
...
Example only....adjust ranges and cities.

You have a table A1:J10

Leave A1 blank.

Say A2:A10 contains city and B1:J1 contains city1

e.g

A2 = Quebec
B1 = Quebec1

A3 = Ottawa
C1 = Ottawa1

A4 = Timmins
D1 = Timmins1

B2:J10 contains mileages.

One method is to select the entire table A1:J10 then choose
InsertNameCreate, and select top row and left column.

Then use the intersect functionality:

=city city1

In above example =quebec ottawa1


This will return the value of the cell at the intersection of city and city1


Gord Dibben Excel MVP

On Sat, 24 Jun 2006 04:03:39 -0500, phil2006
wrote:


I have a distances grid. I need the data from the grid to enter into my
sheet automatically when I type the two towns into columns 1 and 2. SO
when I type tow towns into the sheet it reads the distance from the
corresponding box in the grid. Vlookup hasn't worked for me so far.

Thanks

Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP