Another post covered OpenOffice’s VLOOKUP function to look up data with. Calc also has a HLOOKUP function that is similar. However, with HLOOKUP you can look up data in tables that have horizontal layouts.

For example, set up a small table in a Calc spreadsheet with a couple of rows. In the first row enter package 1, package 2 and package 3 in three cells. In a second row beneath that input food, paper and DVDs so that it matches the table in the shot below. The table has a horizontal format with the record fields entered in rows.

Enter package 1 in another spreadsheet cell. Select a cell to add the function to, and press the fx button to open the Function Wizard. Select HLOOKUP from the window.

Click the button beside the search_criteria text box to select the cell outside the table you entered package 1 in. Then select the table cell range for the array. Enter 2 in the index text box, which is table’s second row.

Press OK to close window and add the function to the spreadsheet. The HLOOKUP cell will now look up the contents of package 1 from the table as shown below. Then you can enter package 2 or package 3 in the search criteria cell to find alternative content in the table.

So this function works much the same as VLOOKUP. However, add HLOOKUP to a spreadsheet if it includes a table with a horizontal layout. Then you can quickly look up data in more extensive spreadsheet tables.