Now I have been an Excel enthisiast and user for around 20 years now, but one of the most talked about features in Excel I have experienced is the VLOOKUP table.  I recently changed over offices in my day job, and one of the first things someone said to me when they found out about my Excel exploits was ohhh so you know all about them VLOOKUPS and stuff. … Love them or hate them they are awesome in their power of analysis from just a few clicks of the mouse!

A book/video I have had in my possession for a while is Chandoo’s VLOOKUP Book.  Well there are actually two versions of this book, there is the actual Ebook and also an Ebook+Video Combo Pack.

I have used it a good deal and it is a good Excel book, on a specialised subject, which is sometimes just what you need. Excel books can try to cover too much subject matter, but Chandoo really expores the Pivot Table Function well in his offering.

It is really good solid Excel Book and warants a review.  So here it is – my review 🙂

As I said there are two flavours of the Book, the first is the standard Ebook – downloadable as a PDF or for your Kindle.  Included in this bundle is the below-

• The Vlookup eBook (Kindle or PDF version)
• Example Excel workbook with more than 50 formulas

The purpose of the book he states is to give you an understanding of how to answer any data lookup problem using Excel LOOKUP.

The book is not overly theoretical but poses problems and walks you through the Excel solutions. He very quickly gets you past the basics of the VLOOKUP, building confidence in understanding the concept from the start.

I was impressed with how quick he gets you to thinks about solutions to data lookup situations you may have yourself and moves to expand on the standars VLOOKUP by intoducing the Index Match functions to feel you have even more Data Superpowers!

To give you an idea of content here are the details.

Who is Chandoo & What is Chandoo.org? .. 5
A note about downloadable workbook .7
Oh! Why should you bother reading this book?!?.. 8
What is VLOOKUP?…9
What about LOOKUP, HLOOKUP.. 14
Using VLOOKUP with Excel tables .. 17
Wild card searches with VLOOKUP .. 20
Let’s mix VLOOKUP with Data Validation for fun & wow factor .. 22
Look right, look left… oh forget! .. 26
What is the sales of Joseph in North for product “Fast car" in Jan 2013? ..29
I want to lookup my cake and eat it too! .. 37
2 way lookups won’t give you hiccups .. 41
2nd time lucky? No… how about third time? .. 46
Lookup Tips & Gotchas .. 50
How to learn more about Excel? .. 52
Appendix 1: INDEX Formula Explained .. 54
Appendix 2: Excel 2013 Data model ..55

I loved the Fact there a meaty Excel workbook download to work along with.  A must I think for any Excel book or course.

The Extra Feature COMBO pack as well as the PDF or Kindle book gives you access the following material below.

• The Vlookup Book – PDF (right click and choose save as)
• Chapter 1: Introduction to VLOOKUP [30mins]
• Chapter 2: What about HLOOKUP and LOOKUP? [6mins]
• Chapter 3: Using Tables with your lookup formulas [11mins]
• Chapter 4: Wildcards in VLOOKUP [11mins]
• Chapter 5: Lets make Bob happy [15mins]
• Chapter 6: Looking up to left [20mins]
• Chapter 7: Multi-condition Lookups [30mins]
• Chapter 8: Getting several columns with single lookup [10mins]
• Chapter 9: 2way lookups [30mins]
• Chapter 10: Getting 2nd or 3rd matching item with lookups [30mins]
• Chapter 11: Top 10 lookup tips [13mins]
• Chapter 12: Bonus: Comparing 2 lists [8mins]
• Chapter 13: Bonus: The duplicate problem [18mins]
• Chapter 14: Bonus: Understanding Excel 2013 data model feature [16mins]

You can see by how content rich the videos are how much content you get from Chandoo.  The videos are awesome quality and easy to follow and understand.

They really bring the examples to life and if you like watching to learn then this Combo pack will suit you.  I always like watching video instruction so this was the option for me.

So after working my way through the VLOOKUP book and instructional Videos, I have to give Chandoo a thumbs up for this product.  Can’t fault it.

In the spirit of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link, which means that I may get a commissions if you decide to purchase anything. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands. Thanks for supporting this website.