<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>MATCH Function</title> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="description" content="" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../editor.css" /> </head> <body> <div class="mainpart"> <h1>MATCH Function</h1> <p>The <b>MATCH</b> function is one of the lookup and reference functions. It is used to return a relative position of a specified item in a range of cells.</p> <p>The <b>MATCH</b> function syntax is:</p> <p style="text-indent: 150px;"><b><em>MATCH(lookup-value, lookup-array[ , [match-type]])</em></b></p> <p><em>where</em></p> <p style="text-indent: 50px;"><em><b>lookup-value</b></em> is a value in the <em><b>lookup-array</b></em> to search for. It can be a numeric, logical or text value, or a cell reference.</p> <p style="text-indent: 50px;"><em><b>lookup-array</b></em> is a single row or column you need to analyze.</p> <p style="text-indent: 50px;"><em><b>match-type</b></em> is a type of match. It's an optional argument. It can be one of the following numeric values:</p> <table style="width: 40%"> <tr> <td><b>Numeric value</b></td> <td><b>Meaning</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1 or omitted</td> <td>The values must be sorted in ascending order. If the the exact match is not found, the function will return the largest value that is less than <em><b>lookup-value</b></em>.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>0</td> <td>The values can be sorted in any order. If the the exact match is not found, the function will return the #N/A error.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-1</td> <td>The values must be sorted in descending order. If the the exact match is not found, the function will return the smallest value that is greater than <em><b>lookup-value</b></em>.</td> </tr> </table> <p>To apply the <b>MATCH</b> function,</p> <ol> <li>select the cell where you wish to display the result,</li> <li>click the <b>Insert Function</b> <img alt="Insert Function icon" src="../images/insertfunction.png" /> icon situated at the top toolbar, <br />or right-click within a selected cell and select the <b>Insert Function</b> option from the menu, <br />or click the <img alt="Function icon" src="../images/function.png" /> icon situated at the formula bar, </li> <li>select the <b>Lookup and Reference</b> function group from the list,</li> <li>click the <b>MATCH</b> function,</li> <li>enter the required arguments separating them by comma,</li> <li>press the <b>Enter</b> button.</li> </ol> <p>The result will be displayed in the selected cell.</p> <p style="text-indent: 150px;"><img alt="MATCH Function" src="../images/match.png" /></p> </div> </body> </html>