Vlookup to return formula in COL_INDEX_NUM not the data in that cell

[jdefreese]

Is there a way that when I enter the vlookup formula and reference COL_INDEX_NUM "2" that it returns the formula in that column and NOT the data?

 

[Toadstool]

Hi JDEFreese,

You can use FORMULATEXT, INDEX and MATCH to retrieve the formula.

JDEFreese.xlsx
	A	B	C	D	E
1	Mouse	=SUM(E1:E2)		Dog	2
2	Dog	=1+1		Cat	3
3	Cat	#N/A		Mouse	5
Sheet1

Cell Formulas
Range	Formula
E1	E1	=1+1
B1:B3	B1	=FORMULATEXT(INDEX($E$1:$E$3,MATCH(A1,$D$1:$D$3,0)))
E3	E3	=SUM(E1:E2)

 

[MARK858]

@Toadstool the OP is using 2010, FORMULATEXT came in with 2013. The OP will need a UDF.