Here's an Excel Lookup Formula challenge to get your brain fired up. Can you solve it without doing a Google search? The problem details are shown below, and you can download the sample workbook. It has the sample data, and there are solutions too, on a different worksheet.

这是一个Excel查找公式的挑战，可以激发您的大脑。 您无需进行Google搜索就能解决吗？ 问题详细信息如下所示，您可以下载示例工作簿。 它具有示例数据，并且在其他工作表上也有解决方案。

查找公式挑战 (The Lookup Formula Challenge)

The problem is based on an email question that someone sent to me recently. They had a solution, but it was a long, complicated formula. Could I come up with something that was more efficient? Well who can resist a challenge like that?

该问题基于某人最近发送给我的电子邮件问题。 他们有一个解决方案，但这是一个漫长而复杂的公式。 我能想出更有效的方法吗？ 那么谁能抵抗这样的挑战呢？

• In columns A:B, there is a lookup table, with a list of customers and their ID codes. 在A：B列中，有一个查找表，其中包含客户及其ID码的列表。
• In column D, there is imported data. There is a customer name in each cell, but it's not in a consistent place. 在D列中，有导入的数据。 每个单元格中都有一个客户名称，但是位置不一致。
• Create a formula in column E, to get the correct customer code for each imported record. 在E列中创建一个公式，以获取每个导入记录的正确客户代码。

尝试挑战 (Try the Challenge)

To try the challenge, build your own sample based on the screen shot above, or go to the Excel Sample Files page on my Contextures website, and download my Excel file.

要尝试挑战，请根据上面的屏幕快照构建自己的示例，或者转到Contextures网站上的“ Excel示例文件”页面 ，然后下载我的Excel文件。

In the Functions section, look for FN0052 - Lookup Challenge Solutions

在“功能”部分中，查找FN0052-查找质询解决方案

In the workbook you'll find:

在工作簿中，您将找到：

• Instructions 使用说明
• challenge sheet 挑战表
• sheet with clues 线索表
• Solution sheets 解决方案表

What formula did you build? Was is similar to my original formula, or like one of the other, that my newsletter readers submitted?

您建立了什么公式？ 是我的时事通讯读者提交的与我的原始公式类似，还是与其他公式之一相似？

我的挑战解决方案 (My Solution to the Challenge)

I enjoyed solving the formula challenge, and came up with a formula that was much shorter than the original one that was sent to me. But, I figured that the smart people who read my Excel newsletter could find a solution that was better than mine!

我很喜欢解决公式挑战，并且想出了一个比发送给我的原始公式短得多的公式。 但是，我认为阅读我的Excel新闻通讯的聪明人可以找到比我更好的解决方案！

Scroll down if you'd like to see my solution, but stop reading, and come back later if you're still working on the challenge.

如果您想查看我的解决方案，请向下滚动，但请停止阅读，如果您仍在应对挑战，请稍后再回来。

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Here is the formula that I used. It is array-entered, with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

这是我使用的公式。 使用Ctrl + Shift + Enter进行数组输入 。

=INDEX($B$2:$B$4, MATCH(1,IFERROR( SEARCH("*"&$A$2:$A$4&"*",D2,1),0),0))

= INDEX($ B $ 2：$ B $ 4，MATCH(1，IFERROR(SEARCH(“ *”＆$ A $ 2：$ A $ 4＆“ *”，D2,1)，0)，0))

For a brief description of how the formula works, look on the SolutionsA sheet in the Lookup Challenge Solutions workbook.

有关公式如何工作的简要说明，请在“ 查找挑战解决方案”工作簿中的SolutionsA表上查找 。

非数组公式 (Non-Array Formulas)

As I expected, other people had better solutions for this problem. Some people used the LOOKUP function in their solutions, and those formulas didn't need to be array-entered. For example:

如我所料，其他人对此问题有更好的解决方案。 有些人在解决方案中使用了LOOKUP函数，而这些公式不需要进行数组输入。 例如：

=IFERROR(LOOKUP(2^15,SEARCH($A$2:$A$4,$D2),$B$2:$B$4),"")

= IFERROR(LOOKUP(2 ^ 15，SEARCH($ A $ 2：$ A $ 4，$ D2)，$ B $ 2：$ B $ 4)，“”)

There are a few others on the SolutionsB sheet in the download file. And if you find a different solution, please share it in the comments below.

下载文件中的SolutionsB表上还有其他一些内容。 如果您找到其他解决方案，请在下面的评论中分享。

另一个公式解释 (Another Formula Explained)

Kevin Lehrbass enjoyed the challenge, and made a video to explain his solution. The sound is a bit low, so adjust your speaker, if you can't hear it clearly.

凯文·勒巴斯(Kevin Lehrbass)乐于接受挑战，并制作了一段视频来解释他的解决方案 。 声音有点低，如果听不清楚，请调整扬声器。

Here is Kevin's formula:

这是凯文的公式：

  =INDEX($B$2:$B$4, MIN(IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH($A$2:$A$4,D2)), ROW($A$2:$A$4)-ROW($A$2)+1,"")))

= INDEX($ B $ 2：$ B $ 4，MIN(IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH($ A $ 2：$ A $ 4，D2))，ROW($ A $ 2：$ A $ 4)-ROW($ A $ 2)+1 ，“”)))

Kevin said, "I had to add the ROW - ROW part (in case someone would insert a row above and break my array)."

凯文说：“我必须添加ROW-ROW部分(以防有人在其上方插入一行并破坏我的阵列)。”

下载工作簿 (Download the Workbook)

In case you missed the download links earlier, here's how you can get the sample file. Go to the Excel Sample Files page on my Contextures website, and download my Excel file. In the Functions section, look for FN0052 - Lookup Challenge Solutions

如果您之前错过了下载链接，可以通过以下方法获取示例文件。 转到我的Contextures网站上的“ Excel示例文件”页面 ，然后下载我的Excel文件。 在“功能”部分中，查找FN0052-查找质询解决方案

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