Did you know Excel has a new feature called XLOOKUP?

For those of you who read these blogs regularly, you know that much of the focus is placed on IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks.  However, I periodically also like to pass along new information about other planning and reporting aspects that impact your day-to-day tasks.

The VLOOKUP function has been around since Excel released version 1.0 in 1985. While VLOOKUP is one of the most widely used functions in Excel, there are some limitations:

• Finding an “approximate” match
• How to easily add columns in the search range
• Define a search value in the middle of the range (e.g., not as the first column)
• Starting a search at the bottom of your list without having to re-sort the data table

Microsoft recently announced the addition of a new function called XLOOKUP that is designed to simplify the lookup approach while merging functions such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, INDEX and MATCH into a single function. The function is written as:

XLOOKUP(lookup_value,lookup_array,return_array,[match_mode],[search_mode])

lookup value: the value you are looking for (the same as VLOOKUP)

lookup_array: the lookup column (the same as VLOOKUP)

return_array: the results column (the same as VLOOKUP)

match_mode: This is an optional parameter that determines what kind of match to find.  The options include an exact match, an exact match or the next smaller item, an exact match or the next larger item, or a wildcard search.

search_mode: This is an optional parameter that allows you to determine whether the search happens from first-to-last or from last-to-first.

This new approach will make searching easier by not having to repeatedly modify your search table while also adding new functionality for tasks such as looking up a tax rate within a range of results.

There are many instances where the inclusion of Excel functions can help further your analytics. XLOOKUP is just one example.

IBM Planning Analytics, which TM1 is the engine for, is full of new features and functionality. Not sure where to start? Our team here at Revelwood can help. Contact us for more information at info@revelwood.com. And stay tuned for more Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks weekly in our Knowledge Center and in upcoming newsletters!