a problem of matching

[geologist1]

Okay, here is the problem:

I need rain data for a list of specific dates from xx/xx/xx to xx/xx/xx.

In one column I have consecutive running dates with corresponding daily rainfall.

In another column I have the list of specific dates.


What is a quick way to match the daily rainfall to the specific dates in my list?

 

[Airfix9]

Assuming that dates are in column A, rainfall numbers are in B and your search date is in C1:

=VLOOKUP(C1,A:B,2,0)

 

[geologist1]

Not working. Sorry I am just learning VLOOKUP.

The running list of dates are in column R. The rainfall data is in Column S. The list of dates I need data for are in Column V.

=VLOOKUP(V1,R:S,2,0) ???

 

[geologist1]

NVM I got it. Thanks for the help

 

[Airfix9]

That should work, yes, assuming the first date is in V1.

V1 is the date you want to look up.
R:S is the range you want to find it in, where the date should appear in column R.
2 is the number you want returned (second column, as first column would be the date itself).
0 means that you want to find the date exactly.

One of the most common problems with all Lookups is that the source data and the value to look for are not exactly the same. A quick way to see if this is a problem that you are having is to pick a date that you KNOW is in the column and put that in V1. Assuming that the date in the column is R1, type in =V1=R1 and if you get TRUE, then the numbers are exact matches. If you get FALSE, there is a problem with the source data.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Just saw you got it after posting this, so that's good.