In order to index match across multiple sheets, you must have a master sheet that presents the data in the same order as the individual data sheets. This can be accomplished by using the INDEX function. This function returns all the columns on a specific row, as well as all the columns in a particular column. Input the value of “0” as the row or column argument to select the option. After the INDEX function has retrieved all of the columns, you can now remove the row that has matched the criteria.
If your data spans several columns, you may need to use INDEX MATCH to perform a two-way lookup. For example, suppose you need to retrieve the marks of each student for all subjects. This formula would retrieve the marks for all of the students in Column A. It will do this by using the range B2:D11 and the INDEX function. To perform this search, you need to select the area that contains the data. If the cell in B2 is not found in Column A, you can use INDEX MATCH.
In Excel, there are two ways to do this: VLOOKUP and INDEX & MATCH. The VLOOKUP function looksup values in one or more tabs while INDEX & MATCH searches across multiple sheets. In the case of VLOOKUP, you must use the cell references, which are called tables in Excel. The INDIRECT function acts as a messenger and returns the sheet address in the correct format. This method is volatile, which means that if the formula fails to return the results, the sheet address isn’t retrieved.
