Google Sheets is a powerful tool for organizing and analyzing data, and one of its most commonly used functions is VLOOKUP. VLOOKUP allows you to search for a value in one column and return a corresponding value from another column.
By default, VLOOKUP in Google Sheets is not case-sensitive, meaning it treats uppercase and lowercase letters the same.
However, there are situations where you might need to perform a case-sensitive lookup to ensure accurate results. In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets step-by-step.
We will use both the regular VLOOKUP formula and the correct function to show you which one gives the correct result.
But before we jump into all that, let’s review a popular use case/scenario for performing case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
Use Case/Sceenrio for Leveraging Case Sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets
Imagine you are managing a database of customer information for an online store. The database includes a column for customer names and another column for their corresponding order numbers.
You often receive queries from customers asking about their orders, but they don’t always provide their names with the correct capitalization. For example, some customers might write their names as “JOHN DOE” or “John Doe” instead of “john doe” as it appears in your database.
In this scenario, a regular VLOOKUP would treat “john doe” and “John Doe” as the same, potentially returning incorrect order numbers. To ensure accurate results, you need to perform a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets, which matches the names exactly as they appear in the database.
Performing Case Sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets- Detailed Step-By-Step Guide
Now that you know a thing or two about VLOOKUP, especially as it pertains to executing a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets, we are sure you want to get some practical guidance on how to perform case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
Let’s cut to the chase and bring you all the details.
For our tutorial, we will use the following sample to perform a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
Let’s say we want to use the above sample data sheet featuring customers’ names and order numbers, and we want to perform case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets for a customer named john doe. Using the regular VLOOKUP function will return the wrong result.
Here is what will happen when we use the regular VLOOKUP function to perform case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
For the following scenario, we will use the following VLOOKUP formula:
=VLOOKUP(D2, A2:B7, 2)
We first want to head straight to our sample sheet and choose the cell where we want our result generated. For this example, we will use cell E2.
With that done, navigate to the formula bar and type in the following formula:
=VLOOKUP(D2, A2:B7, 2)
After typing your formula, hit Enter on your keyboard. Google Sheets should only take a few seconds to generate the result in the selected cell.
If you did exactly as we showed you, you should have something like this:
From the image above, you can clearly see that using the regular VLOOOKUP function did not give us the correct result. Instead of returning E1090 as the order number for john doe, it returned E1078 for JOHN DOE.
To get exactly what we are looking for, we need to use a different formula. Read on as we show you the correct formula to execute case sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
Correct formula for executing case sensitive VLOOKUP operation
Performing case sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets is somewhat tricky. To get exactly what you’re after, you need to use the correct formula.
For this example, we will be using the following formula:
=INDEX(B2:B8, MATCH(TRUE, EXACT(D2, A2:A8), 0))
Let’s apply the following formula to the sample sheet we used earlier.
Step 1: Choose the cell where you want the result generated
First, we need to choose the cell where we want our result generated. As we did earlier, we will use cell E2 for our example. So go ahead and choose that cell.
Step 2: Type in the formula
Now that we have chosen a cell where we want our result generated, we need to type in our formula. So head over to the formula bar and type in the following formula:
=INDEX(B2:B8, MATCH(TRUE, EXACT(D2, A2:A8), 0))
Step 3: Hit Enter
Having typed in our formula, all that is left to do is hit the Enter button. The result should be instantly generated in the selected cell.
Here is what ours looks like:
From the image above, you can see that we have now been able to perform a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets that gave us exactly what we wanted.
Unlike the regular VLOOKUP formula we used, which generated the wrong result, combining the Index, Match and Exact functions as shown below:
=INDEX(B2:B8, MATCH(TRUE, EXACT(D2, A2:A8), 0))
Gave us the exact result for john doe.
From the example we just showed you, we are sure you can now see how easy it is to perform a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.
By simply using the correct formula, anyone would be able to perform a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets without sweating it.
Final thoughts
Performing a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets can be useful in scenarios where data accuracy depends on matching exact capitalization. By combining the Index, Match, and Exact functions, you can ensure that your lookup results are precise and reliable.
Whether you’re managing customer databases, tracking inventory, or analyzing sales data, understanding how to create a case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets will enhance your data analysis capabilities.
In case you hit a brick wall or need some clarifications, feel free to go over the steps outlined in today’s guide. We have also included a few screenshots to guide you every step of the way.
If you have any questions or need clarification on any steps you don’t understand, feel free to comment; we will be happy to help.
We hope today’s guide has answered any questions you have about performing case-sensitive VLOOKUP in Google Sheets.