Update...
First, THANKS to Hasit and JV for your support.
Here I go again... I first "slammed" Excel for being inferior to Lotus 123, and I still stick by that position. In my (humble) option, I maintain that Lotus 123’s extremely versatile database functions and “functionality” are FAR superior to the “filter” and “array” options in Excel.
However, as in the past, I've persisted in looking for a workaround "equivalent" function or solution, and I found one.
I discovered that the VLOOKUP function works well in RookieDBO's situation, and actually pulls in the data WITHOUT having to open the other file.
Here's the formula:
=VLOOKUP(C4,'C:\Test_db.xls'!data,2,FALSE) - for column A
=VLOOKUP(C4,'C:\Test_db.xls'!data,3,FALSE) - for column B
RookieDBO is importing data into a sheet starting at column C. He has the above formulas as "resident formulas" in columns A & B. These formulas then "pull in" the required information from the SEPARATE file (in this case called "Test_db.xls"

- which does NOT have to be opened.
If there is a preference to show a "BLANK" cell instead of "#N/A", the following formula will provide that option.
=IF(ISNA(VLOOKUP(C4,'C:\Test_db.xls'!data,2,FALSE)),"",VLOOKUP(C4,'C:\Test_db.xls'!data,2,FALSE))
If anyone would like a copy of the two files, don't hesitate to ask.
Regarding my complaints about the “inferiority” of Excel, allow me to provide just a couple of “small examples”…
1) In Lotus 123, one can create extremely complex criteria for the database functions – i.e. where the criteria can have as many COMPOUND conditions and references and one can imagine or require. In Excel, by comparison, this sort of thing is EXTREMELY limited, and DIFFICULT to set up.
2) In Lotus 123, one can actually use the same complex database functions as “text” as part of the programming code, but yet the code treats these powerful “text” formulas as if they are “live” formulas. One can therefore easily create “test conditions” like the following:
{IF @DSUM(data,”DOLLARS”,dol_crit)>=100}{subroutine_1}
{IF @DSUM(data,”DOLLARS”,dol_crit)<100}{subroutine_2}
{IF @DCOUNT(data,”EMPLOYEE”,emp_crit)>10}{other_subroutine}
If anyone out there can reveal any obscure or hidden functionality in Excel which comes close to the above, then I (and I expect other former Lotus 123 users and Excel users) will be GREATLY appreciative.
Regards, ...Dale Watson
HOME: nd.watson@shaw.ca
WORK: dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca