{"id":1140,"date":"2020-03-13T16:10:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T08:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/?p=1140"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:15:17","slug":"max_betterthan_vlookup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/max_betterthan_vlookup\/","title":{"rendered":"More useful than VLOOKUP, yet you only use MAX to get the maximum?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>You probably know the MAX function and typically only use it to find the largest value. But MAX can also act as a lookup function \u2014 solving problems VLOOKUP can't. What can MAX do that VLOOKUP cannot? Read on to find out...<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 style=\"margin-bottom:20px;display:block;width:100%;margin-top:10px\">More useful than VLOOKUP, yet you only use MAX to get the maximum? <\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-heading{\r\n\tpadding:0px !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-title {\r\n\tmargin:0px !important; \r\n\ttext-transform:none !important;\r\n\tline-height: 1 !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-title a{\r\n\ttext-decoration:none;\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\tdisplay:block;\r\n\tpadding:0px;\r\n\tfont-size: 18px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n\tborder-bottom:0px !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-title a:focus {\r\noutline: 0px !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-title a:hover, #wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-title a:focus {\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .acc-a{\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tbackground-color:#e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-color: #ddd;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-default > .wpsm_panel-heading{\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tbackground-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tborder-top-left-radius: 0px;\r\n\tborder-top-right-radius: 0px;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .wpsm_panel-default {\r\n\t\tborder:1px solid transparent !important;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 {\r\n\tmargin-bottom: 20px;\r\n\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\tfloat: none;\r\n\twidth: 100%;\r\n\tdisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .ac_title_class{\r\n\tdisplay: block;\r\n\tpadding-top: 12px;\r\n\tpadding-bottom: 12px;\r\n\tpadding-left: 15px;\r\n\tpadding-right: 15px;\r\n}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136  .wpsm_panel {\r\n\toverflow:hidden;\r\n\t-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .05);\r\n\tbox-shadow: 0 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .05);\r\n\t\tborder-radius: 4px;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136  .wpsm_panel + .wpsm_panel {\r\n\t\tmargin-top: 5px;\r\n\t}\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136  .wpsm_panel-body{\r\n\tbackground-color:#ffffff !important;\r\n\tcolor:#000000 !important;\r\n\tborder-top-color: #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tfont-size:16px !important;\r\n\tfont-family: Open Sans !important;\r\n\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\tborder: 2px solid #e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\t}\r\n\r\n#wpsm_accordion_1136 .ac_open_cl_icon{\r\n\tbackground-color:#e8e8e8 !important;\r\n\tcolor: #000000 !important;\r\n\tfloat:right !important;\r\n\tpadding-top: 12px !important;\r\n\tpadding-bottom: 12px !important;\r\n\tline-height: 1.0 !important;\r\n\tpadding-left: 15px !important;\r\n\tpadding-right: 15px !important;\r\n\tdisplay: inline-block !important;\r\n}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/style>\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-group\" id=\"wpsm_accordion_1136\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel Start -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel wpsm_panel-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <h4 class=\"wpsm_panel-title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a  class=\"\"  data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#wpsm_accordion_1136 \" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" data-target=\"#ac_1136_collapse1\" onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_open_cl_icon fa fa-minus\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_title_class\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"margin-right:6px;\" class=\"fa fa-laptop\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan VLOOKUP be used to find each salesperson's most recent sale date?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/h4>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ac_1136_collapse1\" class=\"wpsm_panel-collapse collapse in\"  >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"wpsm_panel-body\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Because VLOOKUP can only return the first matching result from top to bottom.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>For example, if you enter =VLOOKUP(D2,A1:B13,2,FALSE), it will only return 5\/7\/2019 because A2's Peter is the first match from top to bottom.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>So VLOOKUP is not suitable.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel End -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel Start -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel wpsm_panel-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpsm_panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <h4 class=\"wpsm_panel-title\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a  class=\"collapsed\"  data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#wpsm_accordion_1136 \" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" data-target=\"#ac_1136_collapse2\" onclick=\"do_resize()\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_open_cl_icon fa fa-plus\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ac_title_class\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span style=\"margin-right:6px;\" class=\"fa fa-laptop\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan MAX solve this?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/h4>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ac_1136_collapse2\" class=\"wpsm_panel-collapse collapse\"  >\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  <div class=\"wpsm_panel-body\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFormula:\r\n\r\n=MAX(($A$2:$A$13=D2)*$B$2:$B$13) then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter\r\n\r\nUnderstanding this formula is the main concern. The principle is simple: first perform a comparison to see which salespeople in Column A match the salesperson we want to check \u2014 that is the role of $A$2:$A$13=$D2. Select this part of the formula in the formula bar and press F9 to see the calculation result.\r\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/%E6%AF%94VLOOKUP%E5%A5%BD%E7%94%A8%EF%BC%8C%E5%8D%B4%E5%8F%AA%E6%9C%83%E7%94%A8MAX%E6%B1%82%E6%9C%80%E5%A4%A7%E5%80%BC%EF%BC%9F.png?resize=1805%2C442\" alt=\"\" width=\"1805\" height=\"442\" \/><\/p>\r\nNext, multiply this array of logical values by the sale dates in Column B (dates are numeric in Excel). TRUE behaves like 1 in calculations and FALSE behaves like 0, so the results look like this.<\/p>\r\nIn the resulting numbers, 0 indicates entries where no matching dealer was found, while the non-zero numbers are the sale dates returned for matched salespeople. The largest of these values is the most recent date, so MAX easily returns the final result.\r\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/%E6%AF%94VLOOKUP%E5%A5%BD%E7%94%A8%EF%BC%8C%E5%8D%B4%E5%8F%AA%E6%9C%83%E7%94%A8MAX%E6%B1%82%E6%9C%80%E5%A4%A7%E5%80%BC%EF%BC%9F2.png?resize=1357%2C439\" alt=\"\" width=\"1357\" height=\"439\" \/><\/p>\r\nIf your result appears as a number rather than a date, change the cell format to Date.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Inner panel End -->\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n\t\r\n\t\tfunction do_resize(){\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar width=jQuery( '.wpsm_panel .wpsm_panel-body iframe' ).width();\r\n\t\t\tvar height=jQuery( '.wpsm_panel .wpsm_panel-body iframe' ).height();\r\n\r\n\t\t\tvar toggleSize = true;\r\n\t\t\tjQuery('iframe').animate({\r\n\t\t\t    width: toggleSize ? width : 640,\r\n\t\t\t    height: toggleSize ? height : 360\r\n\t\t\t  }, 250);\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  toggleSize = !toggleSize;\r\n\t\t}\r\n\t\t\r\n<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u76f8\u4fe1\u5404\u4f4d\u90fd\u77e5\u9053MAX\u51fd\u6578\uff0c\u4e00\u822c\u6211\u5011\u53ea\u7528\u5b83\u4f86\u6c42\u6700\u5927\u503c\uff0c\u5176\u4ed6\u65b9\u9762\u5c31\u4e0d\u600e\u9ebc\u4f7f\u7528\u5b83\u4e86\u3002\u5176\u5be6MAX\u7adf\u7136\u9084\u80fd\u5145\u7576\u67e5\u8a62\u51fd\u6578\u4f7f [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,20],"tags":[22,90,306,263],"class_list":["post-1140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-excel","category-onlinesupport","tag-max","tag-vlookup","tag-lookup-functions","tag-array-formulas"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fyndpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/new_covers_batch_01_excel_data_validation.jpg?fit=816%2C1088&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1140"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1140\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fyndpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}