In the AMPscript example %%=Lookup('PostalCode','City','PostalCode',46016)=%%, what value is returned?

• A. Anderson, IN
• B. 46016
• C. PostalCode
• D. City

Answer: (D)

Lookup retrieves a value from a data extension by matching a key in one field and returning the value from another field in the same row. In this example, the data extension is PostalCode, the field to return is City, the field used to locate the row is PostalCode, and the value to match is 46016. AMPscript searches for the row where PostalCode equals 46016 and returns the City value from that row. So, the result is the city associated with that postal code (for instance, Anderson, IN if that row exists). The other options correspond to either the lookup key, the data extension field name, or the lookup value, not the city value itself.