When it comes to organizing and managing data in Excel, tables are an essential tool. They allow us to easily sort and filter data, as well as perform calculations and create visual representations of our data. However, when working with large tables, it can be tricky to keep track of the column numbers, especially when there are multiple tables on a single sheet.
Fortunately, Excel provides a solution to this problem - structured references. Structured references are a combination of table and column names that allow us to refer to specific cells within a table. They not only make our formulas more readable but also make it easier to reference cells in a table, even if the table expands or shrinks.
One common task we may encounter when working with tables is finding the column index of a specific column. The column index refers to the position of a column in a table, starting from 1. Knowing the column index can be helpful when using functions that require a column index as an argument, such as the INDEX and MATCH functions.
So, how do we get the column index of a table using a structured reference? Let's walk through the steps.
Step 1: Create a Table
To demonstrate this process, we will first need to create a table. To do this, select the data range and go to the 'Insert' tab. Click on 'Table' in the Tables group, and a dialog box will appear. Make sure the 'My table has headers' option is checked and click 'OK.'
Step 2: Assign a Name to the Table
To make working with structured references easier, we can assign a name to our table. To do this, click anywhere inside the table, go to the 'Table Design' tab, and enter a name in the 'Table Name' field.
Step 3: Use the INDEX and MATCH Functions
Now, let's say we want to find the column index of the 'Sales' column in our table. We can use the INDEX and MATCH functions to achieve this. The syntax for the INDEX function is INDEX(array, row_num, [column_num]), and the syntax for the MATCH function is MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type]).
In the row_num argument of the INDEX function, we will use the MATCH function to find the row number of the 'Sales' column name. The lookup_value will be the column name, the lookup_array will be the first row of our table (which contains the column names), and the match_type will be set to 0 to ensure an exact match.
Our formula will look like this:
=INDEX(Table1,MATCH("Sales",Table1[#Headers],0))
Step 4: Get the Column Index
If we enter this formula in a cell, it will return the value '2', indicating that the 'Sales' column is the second column in our table. This means the column index of the 'Sales' column is 2.
Step 5: Use Structured References
Instead of typing the table name and column name in the formula, we can use structured references to make our formula more readable. The syntax for a structured reference is Table_Name[Column_Name], and it refers to the entire column of a table.
So, our formula can be rewritten as:
=INDEX(Table1,MATCH("Sales",Table1[#Headers],0))
Step 6: Change the Table Structure
One of the major advantages of using structured references is that they are dynamic
