All right.
Next up we've got the match function which just like Index.
It's very simple.
You're not likely at all to use it on its own but rather as a component for more complicated nested
formulas.
So the match function kind of works in the opposite way of index.
It returns the position of a specific value within a column or row.
So in plain-English basically you're saying arayed Excel.
I'm looking for this value whether it's a word or a number or whatever.
Within this column or within this row and it will return the position of that value.
So three components match function.
You've got your lookup value which is what value you're trying to find the position of your lookup array
which is where are you looking.
And note it has to be a one dimensional array.
I'll tell you why in just the second the third component is the match type.
So if you're looking for the exact value which you will be 99 percent of the time just put at 0.
If you're looking for something similar you can use it one or negative one here.
So two examples here in the first case we're matching the word plyers in column A.
So it's looking through column a starting at the top and working its way down until it finds that look
at value plyers and return 4 because it found it in the fourth row down.
In this case we're saying match the number 66 within rows 3.
So A3 there is C3.
So Excel starts and the left moves towards the right until it finds the lookup value 66 and returns
3 because it found it in the third column over.
Now remember Higham mentioned it has to be a one dimensional array.
The reason that's the case is that if we said you know match the number two point five within the array
from a 1 through B 5 How would excel tell us the position of the number 2.5 in this case two dollars
and fifty cents within a three dimensional array.
Right.
There's no single number that will communicate the position of that value which is why you have to say
Look within a single column or a single row and Excel will tell you the row number or the column number
in which the value is found.
So that's match in the next lecture and to talk about how index and match can be combined to do some
epic stuff.