Pointer please
 

Here is a simplified example of a task that I would like to perform on a
spreadsheet with several thousand entries/rows.
I do not know what the operation is called so don't know how to search for
an answer myself.

In my main spreadsheet the rightmost column contains a single category
number, from a range of several hundred.
The same category number can be used on many rows.
I wish to place a text description/label in the next cell on the right.
I have a 2 column table/spreadsheet with the category numbers in the first
column and the matching label in the corresponding cell of the second
column.

How do I apply the contents of this table to my main spreadsheet so that
the appropriate description/label will be incorporated into the new right
column?

Thanks for any pointers
Brian Tozer

If the 2-column table is in, say, sheet2, A1:Bxxx and your main sheet is
Sheet1, then, assuming that the last column in your main table is column
J, use

K2: =VLOOKUP(J2,Sheet2!A:B, 2, FALSE)


In article ,
"KiwiBrian" wrote:

Here is a simplified example of a task that I would like to perform on a
spreadsheet with several thousand entries/rows.
I do not know what the operation is called so don't know how to search for
an answer myself.

In my main spreadsheet the rightmost column contains a single category
number, from a range of several hundred.
The same category number can be used on many rows.
I wish to place a text description/label in the next cell on the right.
I have a 2 column table/spreadsheet with the category numbers in the first
column and the matching label in the corresponding cell of the second
column.

How do I apply the contents of this table to my main spreadsheet so that
the appropriate description/label will be incorporated into the new right
column?

Thanks for any pointers
Brian Tozer

Sounds like a mission for VLOOKUP

http://www.contextures.com/xlFunctions02.html

Regards,

Peo Sjoblom

"KiwiBrian" wrote:

Here is a simplified example of a task that I would like to perform on a
spreadsheet with several thousand entries/rows.
I do not know what the operation is called so don't know how to search for
an answer myself.

In my main spreadsheet the rightmost column contains a single category
number, from a range of several hundred.
The same category number can be used on many rows.
I wish to place a text description/label in the next cell on the right.
I have a 2 column table/spreadsheet with the category numbers in the first
column and the matching label in the corresponding cell of the second
column.

How do I apply the contents of this table to my main spreadsheet so that
the appropriate description/label will be incorporated into the new right
column?

Thanks for any pointers
Brian Tozer

Thanks so much folks.
Very much appreciated.
Brian Tozer

"JE McGimpsey" wrote in message
...
If the 2-column table is in, say, sheet2, A1:Bxxx and your main sheet is
Sheet1, then, assuming that the last column in your main table is column
J, use

K2: =VLOOKUP(J2,Sheet2!A:B, 2, FALSE)


In article ,
"KiwiBrian" wrote:

Here is a simplified example of a task that I would like to perform on a
spreadsheet with several thousand entries/rows.
I do not know what the operation is called so don't know how to search
for
an answer myself.

In my main spreadsheet the rightmost column contains a single category
number, from a range of several hundred.
The same category number can be used on many rows.
I wish to place a text description/label in the next cell on the right.
I have a 2 column table/spreadsheet with the category numbers in the
first
column and the matching label in the corresponding cell of the second
column.

How do I apply the contents of this table to my main spreadsheet so that
the appropriate description/label will be incorporated into the new right
column?

Thanks for any pointers
Brian Tozer