Question : Vlookup for an exact match without sorting.

For an exact match, the table or list needs to be sorted in ascending order by the column from which the vlookup is done ( first column usually).
As I need to lookup with several criteria, I concatenate the criteria with a "_" in between, and enter that in the first column and use that column for the Vlookup. The entries are non numeric though, so I cannot really see how the table can be sorted in ascending order using that column, nor why it is that important? Sorry, i have tried to grasp it from several other sources but am still confused!
Thanks!
danièle

Answer : Vlookup for an exact match without sorting.

To expand on this...

If you use "true" you are looking for the closest item that does not go above your lookup value.  In the case of numbers this means the first value that is not above your variable.

  For a string (or concatenation in your case) it will do the same thing - only alphabetically.

  In most cases vlookup uses the false - and is therefore unimportant that it is sorted.  
(Unless of course you are wanting to inch every bit of speed out of your spreadsheet - but this is hardly noticable unless you are doing thousands of calculations.)