"Ragdyer" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I didn't test for non-existent matches.

You're right, with no match found, the original formula always returns the
first column, although it *does work* when matches are present ... with no
sorting necessary.
If duplicates matches exist, the column of the last match is returned.

Try this formula, also an *array* formula, if there is the possibility of
non-existent matches ... where I included a text statement as part of the
error trap:

=IF(SUM(--ISNUMBER(SEARCH(A22,A3:F20))),INDEX(A2:F2,
MAX((A3:F20=A22)*(COLUMN(A:F)))),"No Match")

Many thanks - that's a great improvement.

The only funny thing now is that if you enter any letter or letters that
correspond with part of one of the names, you get the first column selected
instead of 'No Match'. Don't suppose it is possible to fix as well this
please?

Thanks,

V