LOOKUP() replace with formula in cell instead of value

[sleepymatt]

Hello!

So I'm making an excel sheet to track what I eat. I managed to discover the LOOKUP() function and it is actually works! The problem is that the lookup function shows the value of the cell and not the formula contained in it.

Heres the excel sheet

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A9:E9 - A12:E12 contain the data. A15-E15 are using the LOOKUP function. I'm sure you all know how this works.

The formula I'm using in cells B15-E15:
=LOOKUP($A$15,$A$9:$A$12,$B$9:$B$12) respectively

Now the cells with values actually have formulas in them and I would like to use the lookup command (i'm not sure of any other) and somehow use the formula inside the cell instead of the value.

I hope this makes sense. As i'm sure you can see this is my first post

Thanks!

[:) Sixthsense :)]

Please attach a sample workbook with expected output for better understanding

[sleepymatt]

Ok here it is! Its in Sheet3 foodmacros.xlsx

I just noticed something. Entering Chicken Breast, Fruit, or whey in A15 returns the correct lookup values but when I put rice in A15 it returns the values in the fruit row.

[FDibbins]

Try using vlookup instead...

=VLOOKUP($A15,$A$9:$E$12,COLUMN(B1),FALSE)

[FDibbins]

deleted duplicate post

[sleepymatt]

Nice!! That fixed the issue of rice not showing correctly. Thanks!

[FDibbins]

you'r welcome. If this answered your question, please take a moment to mark the thread as "solved" - it helps keep things neat and tidy lol, and consider adding the reputation to those that helped (see points 2 & 3 below)

[sleepymatt]

Not fixed just yet .. that was just one problem. The only issue is that VLOOKUP works great for matching a cell with a specific row, But the row has formulas in it and I'm looking to have those in the VLOOKUP cells instead of the VLOOKUP command (and the values of the relative cells).

The whole purpose of this is to make a kind of database with all the foods I eat and their carb/fat/protein content. When I'm calculating for the day, I would just enter say rice and the rest of the row would populate automatically (with the formulas in the relative cells .. not the VLOOKUP command). Then, I can adjust the amount based on what I ate and the carb/fat/protein cells would adjust as well.

I updated the excel sheet to try and show what I would like the outcome to look like.

foodmacros-updated.xlsx

[FDibbins]

OK you lost me what are you entering/changing manually and what is supposed to calc from that?

can you walk me through, step-by-step what you are doing, and what you want the results to be (and where)

[sleepymatt]

I made you a video! I'm having a hard time explaining this using text lol. Sorry about the audio quality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=430s71kiZ9c

[sleepymatt]

So is this even possible to do? Or should I look for another way?

[FDibbins]

I cant access youtube from work, sorry (firewalls and stuff)