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XLOOKUP

The modern lookup that replaces VLOOKUP.

Key: "Sales"Sales240Service300Tech360→ 240lookup table

Why planners need it

One function for exact lookups, lookups to the left, and a built-in "if not found" value — cleaner and harder to break.

Syntax

=XLOOKUP(key, lookup_range, return_range, [if_not_found])

Worked example

Look up a queue’s SL target, with a safe default:

=XLOOKUP("Sales", Queue, Target, "not set")80%, or "not set" if the queue is missing.

Watch out: Only in Microsoft 365 / Excel 2021. For older versions use INDEX+MATCH. The 4th argument saves you wrapping in IFERROR.