Then rename each table: Select one cell in a table. The translation table requires two columns, labeled “From” and “To.” The fuzzy match will likely match Kris and Kristy because they share many letters, but it will need an entry in the translation table for Bill and William or Nathan and Nate.īefore you can perform the match, all three ranges of data have to be converted to a table by selecting each individual range and pressing Ctrl+T. These two data sets can be matched using the fuzzy matching option.Ĭolumns G and H show a translation table that will be used by the fuzzy match to help match full first names with their nicknames. Unfortunately, a VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP won’t work since column A uses a “last name, first name” format while column D contains a nickname and last name. You need to identify the people who haven’t yet returned the form. Columns D and E contain the names of the employees who filled out a required form.

Columns A and B contain the list of employees. Figure 1 shows two data sets that need to be matched.