In Google Sheets, what does the function “VLOOKUP” do?

The "VLOOKUP" function in Google Sheets is used to search for specific information in your spreadsheet. The function works by looking at a vertical column (hence the 'V' in VLOOKUP for 'Vertical') of data in your sheet, and then returns a value from a cell in the same row from a column you specify.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how it works:

1. Identify the value you want to look up. This is the value that VLOOKUP will search for in the first column of your range of cells.

2. Determine the range of cells you want to search. This is where VLOOKUP will look for the value you want to find. The first column in the range is searched for the key specified in step 1.

3. Determine the column index number. This is the column number in your range of cells that contains the data you want to retrieve. The first column in the range is numbered 1, the second column 2, and so on.

4. (Optional) Determine the range lookup - this is a logical value (TRUE or FALSE) that tells VLOOKUP whether to return an approximate match (if set to TRUE) or an exact match (if set to FALSE). If omitted, the function will default to TRUE.

So, in summary, the VLOOKUP function in Google Sheets is used to find a value in the leftmost column of a data range and then returns a value in the same row from a column you specify.