Returning info from another workbook

[Enyaw]

I currently have an offset match formula that returns values from another
workbook. The problem is the other workbook must be open or else the formula
becomes volatile. I cannot use a lookup because i cannot sort the data. Is
there any way of retrieving the information witout opening the source
workbook?

 

[Jacob Skaria]

Refer help on VLOOKUP(); especially the last argument

Range_lookup A logical value that specifies whether you want VLOOKUP to
find an exact match or an approximate match:

If TRUE or omitted, an exact or approximate match is returned. If an exact
match is not found, the next largest value that is less than lookup_value is
returned.
The values in the first column of table_array must be placed in ascending
sort order; otherwise, VLOOKUP may not give the correct value. You can put
the values in ascending order by choosing the Sort command from the Data menu
and selecting Ascending. For more information, see Default sort orders.

If FALSE, VLOOKUP will only find an exact match. In this case, the values in
the first column of table_array do not need to be sorted. If there are two or
more values in the first column of table_array that match the lookup_value,
the first value found is used. If an exact match is not found, the error
value #N/A is returned.

'specify the path as below....
=VLOOKUP(1,'D:\[Book5.xls]Sheet1'!$A:$B,2,0)