VLOOKUP & IMPORTRANGE in Google Sheets Guide

Hey there! If you want to pull data from one Google Sheet to another and search it, VLOOKUP combined with IMPORTRANGE is perfect. Here’s a super simple guide. We’re using these two files as examples:

• DataSheet1 (Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jckgdEP3-PQPgPnIeeEsjR_EwwY92BmdnnZQ-cYl168/edit?usp=sharing) – The main file where we’ll write the formula.
• DataSheet2 (Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12FTYtqkrYMKQ3KlmHtZ3_qoDW7Ugywjg2M2zLL4u-Rs/edit?usp=sharing) – The source data file (reference).

Both files have similar data: Column A (ID), B (Name), C (Score).

Easy Steps:

1. Make Files Shareable: In each file, go to Share > Anyone with the link > Viewer. This is needed for IMPORTRANGE to work.

2. Open the Main File (DataSheet1): Add a new column, like D1: “Score from DataSheet2”.

3. Write the VLOOKUP Formula: In cell D2 (below the header), enter this:

   =VLOOKUP(A2, IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12FTYtqkrYMKQ3KlmHtZ3_qoDW7Ugywjg2M2zLL4u-Rs", "Sheet1!A:C"), 3, FALSE)

   • A2: The search value (ID from your file).
   • IMPORTRANGE: Imports data from DataSheet2.
   • 3: The column for score (third column).
   • FALSE: Exact match.

4. Authorize Access: The first time, it’ll prompt – click Allow.

5. Drag the Formula Down: To apply it to all rows.

Example:

We have the following data in our sheets:

ID	Name	Score
1	M	85
2	E	92
3	H	78
4	R	78
5	D	74.5
6	A	71
7	D	67.5

If A2 has ID=2, D2 should show 92 (the score for “E” from DataSheet2). If A3 has ID=3, D3 should show 78 (the score for “H”).

If you see #N/A, the ID wasn’t found or the sheet is empty. Fix it with:

=IFNA(VLOOKUP(...), "Not Found")

This keeps your data synced and up-to-date. Drop a comment if you have questions!