On Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:16:22 -0700 (PDT), Commish wrote:

I do lots of vlookups, but I have encountered a problem of a different
shape.

The piece of data that I am looking for may occur anywhere within a 12
x 16 range (B3:M18). And all I need is to confirm its presence or lack
thereof.

So, look for the value from A1 and check the range b3:m18, if found
TRUE, else FALSE.

Which function do I need to do this? Is there one?

This formula must be **array-entered**:

=OR(A1=B3:M18)

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To **array-enter** a formula, after entering
the formula into the cell or formula bar, hold down
<ctrl<shift while hitting <enter. If you did this
correctly, Excel will place braces {...} around the formula.