John,

Here's a UDF that will return the formula in a cell. Put this in a regular module:

Function GetFormula(MyCell As Range) As String
GetFormula = MyCell.Formula
End Function

Call it in your cell with
=GetFormula(A1)

I don't think you can wrap it around your VLOOKUP as VLOOKUP returns a value, not a
reference. But you could wrap it around a MATCH wrapped around an INDEX, which functions
like VLOOKUP:

=GetFormula(INDEX(F1:F5,MATCH(B4,E1:E5,0)))

Here the table is E1:F5, and it's looking down the E column for what's in B4. It will
return the formula in F1:F5.

--
Earl Kiosterud
www.smokeylake.com

Note: Top-posting has been the norm here.
Some folks prefer bottom-posting.
But if you bottom-post to a reply that's
already top-posted, the thread gets messy.
When in Rome...
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"john" wrote in message
...
I trying a use the vlookup function to look up a couple set of formulas used
to calculate the cost of my list of items. How Can I get the vlookup to read
the formula and not the value of the formula?


If it helps here is one of the formulas if it helps

=IF(AQ28,AQ2/4-1,IF(AQ2=1,-2,IF(AQ2=2,
1,IF(AQ2=4,0,IF(AQ2=8,1,"Invalid")))))+$A$4