vlookup shows invalid references outside of 256 columns

vlookupFunctions do have certain limitations in Excel, one of which is that it can't be found in a range other than 256 columns. This is because earlier versions of Excel (such as Excel 2003 and earlier) had a limit of 256 columns. Although the latest version of Excel has greatly increased the number of columns, it is still usedvlookupmay still run into this issue.

If you're usingvlookupfunction, and you suspect that it is because the lookup range exceeds the limit of 256 columns, you can try the following solutions:

A commonly used solution is to useindexwithmatchfunction insteadvlookupindexwithmatchThe combination provides greater flexibility without the 256-column limit.

=index(return value range, match(find value, find column range, 0)).

Find a value: The value you want to find.

Find a column range: The range of columns that contain the lookup values.

Indicates an exact match.

If possible, consider rearranging the layout of the worksheet, which will need to be usedvlookupThe column of the function lookup is moved to the range of 256 columns. This may require some reorganization of the data, but in some cases, it's a relatively straightforward solution.

Split a worksheet with more than 256 columns of data into two or more worksheets, so that the number of columns in each worksheet will not exceed 256 columns. You can then use it in these smaller sheetsvlookupor other functions.

You can use it if you're using Office 365 or Excel 2019 and laterxlookupfunction, it isvlookupThe upgraded version has no column restrictions and is more flexible to use:

=xlookup(lookup value, lookup column range, return value range).

Choose the method that suits your situation to solve itvlookup256 columns limit problem. Usually,indexwithmatchFunction combinations are a very powerful and flexible alternative that works with all versions of Excel.