How to import data from one sheet to another

Question

I have two different work sheets in excel with the same headings in in all the row 1 cells(a1 = id, b1 = name, c1 = price). My question is, is there a way to import data(like the name) from 1 worksheet to the other where the "id" is the same in both worksheets.

eg.
sheet 1                             sheet2
ID      Name       Price            ID        Name        Price
xyz     Bag        20               abc                     15
abc     jacket     15               xyz                     20

So is there a way to add the "Name" in sheet 1 the "Name" in sheet 2 where the "ID" in sheet 1 = "ID" in sheet 2?

Without coping and pasting of course Thanks

Answer 1

VLookup

You can do it with a simple VLOOKUP formula. I've put the data in the same sheet, but you can also reference a different worksheet. For the price column just change the last value from 2 to 3, as you are referencing the third column of the matrix "A2:C4".

External Reference

To reference a cell of the same Workbook use the following pattern:

<Sheetname>!<Cell>

Example:

Table1!A1

To reference a cell of a different Workbook use this pattern:

[<Workbook_name>]<Sheetname>!<Cell>

Example:

[MyWorkbook]Table1!A1

Answer 2

Saw this thread while looking for something else and I know it is super old, but I wanted to add my 2 cents.

NEVER USE VLOOKUP. It's one of the worst performing formulas in excel. Use index match instead. It even works without sorting data, unless you have a -1 or 1 in the end of the match formula (explained more below)

Here is a link with the appropriate formulas.

The Sheet 2 formula would be this: =IF(A2="","",INDEX(Sheet1!B:B,MATCH($A2,Sheet1!$A:$A,0)))

• IF(A2="","", means if A2 is blank, return a blank value
• INDEX(Sheet1!B:B, is saying INDEX B:B where B:B is the data you want to return. IE the name column.
• Match(A2, is saying to Match A2 which is the ID you want to return the Name for.
• Sheet1!A:A, is saying you want to match A2 to the ID column in the previous sheet
• ,0)) is specifying you want an exact value. 0 means return an exact match to A2, -1 means return smallest value greater than or equal to A2, 1 means return the largest value that is less than or equal to A2. Keep in mind -1 and 1 have to be sorted.

More information on the Index/Match formula

Other fun facts: $ means absolute in a formula. So if you specify $B$1 when filling a formula down or over keeps that same value. If you over $B1, the B remains the same across the formula, but if you fill down, the 1 increases with the row count. Likewise, if you used B$1, filling to the right will increment the B, but keep the reference of row 1.

I also included the use of indirect in the second section. What indirect does is allow you to use the text of another cell in a formula. Since I created a named range sheet1!A:A = ID, sheet1!B:B = Name, and sheet1!C:C=Price, I can use the column name to have the exact same formula, but it uses the column heading to change the search criteria.

Good luck! Hope this helps.