Hey! I’m trying to figure out if there’s a column enrichment in Clay that lets me retrieve the value of a single cell from another table that’s linked to mine — based on the value of one specific cell in my current table. Basically, I want something like a VLOOKUP: I give it one value from my current row, and it looks for that value in another table, then returns one specific field from the matching row. Is there an enrichment or a built-in way to do that in Clay?
Yes! Clay has a Lookup integration that works exactly like VLOOKUP in spreadsheets.
Use the "Lookup Single Row in Other Table" action to retrieve a single matching record from another Clay table. [1] You'll specify:
Table to Search - the target table
Target Column - where to look for your value
Filter Operator - how to match
Row Value - the value from your current row
This returns data from the matching row in the other table, functioning as your VLOOKUP equivalent. [2]
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Yes, that’s exactly what I want — but my question is: once we set the conditions, can we choose which column from the matching row is returned? Right now it seems like we can only define the match, but not specify the result column.
The Lookup Single Row in Other Table action returns the entire matching row from the target table, not just a specific column. [1] The inputs only allow you to specify the search criteria (Table to Search, Target Column, Filter Operator, and Row Value), but there's no option to select which specific column to return from the matching row.
When the lookup finds a match, you'll get all the data from that row, and you can then reference the specific column you need from the returned data. [2]
Are you looking to return only a specific field from the matching row to reduce the data size, or do you need help accessing a particular column from the returned row data?
If you need more help with selecting or accessing specific columns from the matching row in your lookup, I’m here to assist. Would you like to provide more details about what you’re trying to achieve with the returned data?
Ok thanks! I’d also like to know: if I use the “Lookup Multiple Rows in Other Table” enrichment, how do the results appear? For example, if it finds multiple URLs, will they all be placed in the same column?
When you use "Lookup Multiple Rows in Other Table," all matching rows are returned as a list in the same column. [1]
You can then reference different types of data from this list:
So if multiple URLs are found, they'll all appear in the same column as a list, and you can reference each URL individually or work with the complete set.
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If you need any further help with understanding or using the lookup enrichments, I’m here to assist. Would you like to share more about what you’re trying to accomplish with these lookup results?
Thanks for the explanation! I’m trying to make the results appear directly as a list in the same column. Right now I can’t seem to format them that way, and I’d like each matching item to show in one cell as a list automatically, instead of having to handle multiple items manually when there’s more than one result. Is there a way to have the “Lookup Multiple Rows in Other Table” output formatted as a list directly in the column? If so, how ?
Lists use zero-based indexing (first item = index 0, second = index 1, etc.) and you can reference the entire list or individual items as needed. The enrichment doesn't require special formatting - it naturally outputs multiple results as a list structure in one cell. [3]
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Yes, but I mean putting it in table form to make it easier to see.
To display lookup results in table form, create child columns from your lookup results:
Click on the cell containing your lookup results to open the Cell details panel
Hover over the specific data point you want to display as a separate column
Click Add as column
Enter a column description and click Create column
This creates individual columns for each data point from your lookup results, making them easier to view in table format. [1]
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