vlookup returns the formula I entered, not the expected value

  • Thread starter Thread starter Swish7
  • Start date Start date
S

Swish7

Hello,

My vlookup formula "=VLOOKUP(A1,'src-data'!$A$1:$F$5,6,FALSE)" and/or
"=VLOOKUP(A1,'src-data'!$A$1:$F$5,6)"", when applied to some columns, is
returning the formula I entered. It is not returning the desired value.

I have an XLS with two worksheets. One includes the source data (src-data).
The other is the primary worksheet on which I am attempting to pull data from
the source using VLookup. for example:

Primary
A B C D E
Cert # Type Value
row 1 11-000010 D4 (returns formula)
row 2 11-000053 D4 (ibid)
row 3 11-000072 D4 (ibid)
row 4 11-000089 D4 (ibid)

Src-data
A B C D E
Cert # Date 1 Date 2 Age Type VALUE
row 1 11-000010 2/19/2008 8/19/2006 699 D4 3
row 2 11-000053 6/2/2008 12/1/2006 595 D4 3
row 3 11-000072 7/13/2008 1/11/2007 554 D4 3
row 4 11-000089 7/31/2008 1/29/2007 536 D4 3

THE PROBLEM
The formula "=VLOOKUP(A1,'src-data'!$A$1:$F$5,6,FALSE)" when entered in
column C is actually returning the formula itself and not the value.

However, "=VLOOKUP(A1,'src-data'!$A$1:$F$5,5,FALSE)" returns the proper
value "D4".

This happened to me once in the past. I was able to correct it by inserting
a column and re-entering the formula. However, nothing seems to be working at
the moment.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
- pete

However
 
Column C has accidentally been formated as Text.

1. select the column
2. clear the column
3. format the cells in column C to general
4. enter your formulas
 
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