compare one column to another and copy as needed

[inosent]

hi

i have a file with 131000 records, and in one of the columns is an item number that is often duplicated etc

then i have another column of item numbers that does not duplicate (much smaller, 45 to be exact)


what i want is a formula that looks at the column with the item number in the big list and sees if it is in the short list, and if so copy to an adjoining cell the item name


ex

col 1 col2 (item name)
1 hammer
2 nails
3 wire
4 insulation
5 glue
6 windows
7 outlets
8 drywall


col 3
1
2
3
3
3
3
5
6
7
7
8
8
8

so as i compare col 3 to col 1, if there is a match, i want col 4 to say what the item name is in col 2

ex

col 3 col 4
1 hammer
2 nails
3 wire
3 wire
3 wire
3 wire
5 glue
6 windows
7 outlets
7 outlets
8 drywall
8 drywall
8 drywall


i completely forgot the formula for this action. any help is appreciated. thanks

 

[Sthrncali]

Looks like you just need a VLOOKUP:

=VLOOKUP(ColC, ColA:B, 2, False)

 

[Yahya]

HI
you have two options VLOOKUP and LOOKUP
because your original data in ascending order you can use LOOKUP

Excel Workbook
	A	B	C	D	E
1				VlookUP	Lookup
2	1	hammer	1	hammer	hammer
3	2	nails	2	nails	nails
4	3	wire	3	wire	wire
5	4	insulation	3	wire	wire
6	5	glue	3	wire	wire
7	6	windows	3	wire	wire
8	7	outlets	5	glue	glue
9	8	drywall	6	windows	windows
10			7	outlets	outlets
11			7	outlets	outlets
12			8	drywall	drywall
13			8	drywall	drywall
14			8	drywall	drywall
Sheet1

Excel 2010

Cell Formulas
Range	Formula
D2	=VLOOKUP(C2,$A$2:$B$9,2,0)
E2	=LOOKUP(C2,$A$2:$A$9,$B$2:$B$9)

 

[inosent]

thank you for your replies, they did the job perfectly