How to use the DGET function
What is the DGET function?
The DGET function fetches a value from a column in a database whose records meet a condition or criteria.
Table of Contents
1 . Introduction
What is DGET an abbreviation of?
DGET is an abbreviation of Database Get.
What is GET?
There is no function named GET in Excel, however, FILTER, VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, LOOKUP, and XLOOKUP are somewhat similar in functionality.
What happens if the DGET function matches multiple values?
You get an error value, see section 5 below. I recommend the new Excel 365 FILTER function, it returns multiple matches if needed. You can find an example in section 5 below.
What is a database in this context?
Excel defines a database as a list of related data in which rows of related information are records, and columns of data are fields. The first row of the list contains labels for each column.
Where can you place the criteria range?
You can place your criteria range wherever you want on your worksheet, however, it is not recommended below the list/database. The function needs a blank row below the list to work properly.
What criteria characters are allowed?
Allowed criteria range characters are less than and greater than signs <>, use them to specify a criteria range. Also, asterisks * can be used to match partial strings.
How to calculate the DGET for the entire list/database?
To include the entire list/database enter a blank line below the criteria range column labels.
2. Syntax
DGET(database, field, criteria)
| database | Required. The cell reference to a list or database. |
| field | Required. The field argument lets you choose which column to use. You can use the column name enclosed with double quotation marks or the corresponding column number. |
| criteria | Required. A cell reference to the criteria range. The criteria range needs to have column labels and at least one condition below the column label. |
3. Example 1
In a sales database, you want to get the sales number from the "Number" column where the "Item" column is equal to "A412". How can you use the DGET function to get this value?
The data in cell range B6:D12 in the image above, here is that data:
| Item | Size | Number |
| A102 | M | 370 |
| A103 | L | 690 |
| A099 | S | 310 |
| A412 | S | 190 |
| A341 | L | 550 |
| A340 | M | 730 |
The criteria are in cell range B2:B3:
| Item |
| A412 |
The arguments are:
database = B6:D12
field = 3
criteria = B2:B3
This example uses one condition to get a single value from column "Number". The condition is specified in cell B3 and and is applied to column "Item".
The condition "A412" matches cell B10 and the value in column "Number" on the same row is "190".
Formula in cell B15:
The formula returns "190" in cell B15.
4. Example 2
In a sales database, you want to get the product from the "Item" column where the "Size" column is equal to "M" and the "number" column has a value larger than 700. Both conditions must match on the same row. How can you use the DGET function to get this value?
The data in cell range B6:D12 in the image above, here is that data:
| Item | Size | Number |
| A102 | M | 370 |
| A103 | L | 690 |
| A099 | S | 310 |
| A412 | S | 190 |
| A341 | L | 550 |
| A340 | M | 730 |
The image above shows how to use two criteria and both conditions must match on the same row. The conditions are:
- "M" in column "Size"
- ">700" in column "Number"
The arguments are:
database = B6:D12
field = 1
criteria = B2:C3
The conditions are entered on the same row which is row 3, this means that both conditions must match, in other words "AND"-logic.
Formula in cell B15:
The formula extracts a value from column Item based on two conditions. The size must be M and number must be above 700. Only one record match, the function returns A340 in cell B15.
5. Function not working
The DGET function returns a #NUM error if there is more than one match. The image above demonstrates this error, the condition is specified in cell B3 which is "M" and is applied to column "Size" which is specified in cell B2.
Formula in cell B14:
The result in cell B14 is a #NUM error and this is because there are two cells that match the condition. They are cells C6 and C11, the DGET function can't return both matches, instead a #NUM error is displayed. A workaround is to use the new FILTER function available to Excel 365 subscribers.
Excel 365 dynamic array formula in cell B15:
This formula returns an array of values if necessary, it spills the values to cell B15 and cells below as far as needed. The example above returns values "370" and "730" in cells B15 and B16.
This example shows a #VALUE! error that is triggered if no values match at all. The first condition is specified in cell B3 and is "M" applied to column "Size". The second condition is "B*" which is applied to column "Item".
The asterisk lets you look for any number of characters, in this case, the condition means that any cell value that begins with "B" regardless of the remaining characters is a match. However, none of the cells in C7:C12 match this condition.
Formula in cell B15:
The result is a #VALUE error, there are no records that match both conditions.
5.1 Troubleshooting the error value
When you encounter an error value in a cell a warning symbol appears, displayed in the image above. Press with mouse on it to see a pop-up menu that lets you get more information about the error.
- The first line describes the error if you press with left mouse button on it.
- The second line opens a pane that explains the error in greater detail.
- The third line takes you to the "Evaluate Formula" tool, a dialog box appears allowing you to examine the formula in greater detail.
- This line lets you ignore the error value meaning the warning icon disappears, however, the error is still in the cell.
- The fifth line lets you edit the formula in the Formula bar.
- The sixth line opens the Excel settings so you can adjust the Error Checking Options.
Here are a few of the most common Excel errors you may encounter.
#NULL error - This error occurs most often if you by mistake use a space character in a formula where it shouldn't be. Excel interprets a space character as an intersection operator. If the ranges don't intersect an #NULL error is returned. The #NULL! error occurs when a formula attempts to calculate the intersection of two ranges that do not actually intersect. This can happen when the wrong range operator is used in the formula, or when the intersection operator (represented by a space character) is used between two ranges that do not overlap. To fix this error double check that the ranges referenced in the formula that use the intersection operator actually have cells in common.
#SPILL error - The #SPILL! error occurs only in version Excel 365 and is caused by a dynamic array being to large, meaning there are cells below and/or to the right that are not empty. This prevents the dynamic array formula expanding into new empty cells.
#DIV/0 error - This error happens if you try to divide a number by 0 (zero) or a value that equates to zero which is not possible mathematically.
#VALUE error - The #VALUE error occurs when a formula has a value that is of the wrong data type. Such as text where a number is expected or when dates are evaluated as text.
#REF error - The #REF error happens when a cell reference is invalid. This can happen if a cell is deleted that is referenced by a formula.
#NAME error - The #NAME error happens if you misspelled a function or a named range.
#NUM error - The #NUM error shows up when you try to use invalid numeric values in formulas, like square root of a negative number.
#N/A error - The #N/A error happens when a value is not available for a formula or found in a given cell range, for example in the VLOOKUP or MATCH functions.
#GETTING_DATA error - The #GETTING_DATA error shows while external sources are loading, this can indicate a delay in fetching the data or that the external source is unavailable right now.
5.2 The formula returns an unexpected value
To understand why a formula returns an unexpected value we need to examine the calculations steps in detail. Luckily, Excel has a tool that is really handy in these situations. Here is how to troubleshoot a formula:
- Select the cell containing the formula you want to examine in detail.
- Go to tab “Formulas” on the ribbon.
- Press with left mouse button on "Evaluate Formula" button. A dialog box appears.
The formula appears in a white field inside the dialog box. Underlined expressions are calculations being processed in the next step. The italicized expression is the most recent result. The buttons at the bottom of the dialog box allows you to evaluate the formula in smaller calculations which you control. - Press with left mouse button on the "Evaluate" button located at the bottom of the dialog box to process the underlined expression.
- Repeat pressing the "Evaluate" button until you have seen all calculations step by step. This allows you to examine the formula in greater detail and hopefully find the culprit.
- Press "Close" button to dismiss the dialog box.
There is also another way to debug formulas using the function key F9. F9 is especially useful if you have a feeling that a specific part of the formula is the issue, this makes it faster than the "Evaluate Formula" tool since you don't need to go through all calculations to find the issue.
- Enter Edit mode: Double-press with left mouse button on the cell or press F2 to enter Edit mode for the formula.
- Select part of the formula: Highlight the specific part of the formula you want to evaluate. You can select and evaluate any part of the formula that could work as a standalone formula.
- Press F9: This will calculate and display the result of just that selected portion.
- Evaluate step-by-step: You can select and evaluate different parts of the formula to see intermediate results.
- Check for errors: This allows you to pinpoint which part of a complex formula may be causing an error.
The image above shows cell reference B2:B3 converted to hard-coded value using the F9 key. The DGET function requires valid criteria values which is not the case in this example. There are more than one value that matches, we have found what is wrong with the formula.
Tips!
- View actual values: Selecting a cell reference and pressing F9 will show the actual values in those cells.
- Exit safely: Press Esc to exit Edit mode without changing the formula. Don't press Enter, as that would replace the formula part with the calculated value.
- Full recalculation: Pressing F9 outside of Edit mode will recalculate all formulas in the workbook.
Remember to be careful not to accidentally overwrite parts of your formula when using F9. Always exit with Esc rather than Enter to preserve the original formula. However, if you make a mistake overwriting the formula it is not the end of the world. You can “undo” the action by pressing keyboard shortcut keys CTRL + z or pressing the “Undo” button
5.3 Other errors
Floating-point arithmetic may give inaccurate results in Excel - Article
Floating-point errors are usually very small, often beyond the 15th decimal place, and in most cases don't affect calculations significantly.
Functions in 'Database' category
The DGET function function is one of 11 functions in the 'Database' category.
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