Load the Solver Add-in | Formulate the Model | Trial and Error | Solve the Model
Excel includes a tool called solver that uses techniques from the operations research to find optimal solutions for all kind of decision problems.
Load the Solver Add-in
Dec 7, 2018 - Step 1: Download Analytic Solver on AnalyticSolver.com Before you can fully. Step 3: Open Excel and Log In to Solver using the account you.
To load the solver add-in, execute the following steps.
1. On the File tab, click Options.
2. Under Add-ins, select Solver Add-in and click on the Go button.
3. Check Solver Add-in and click OK.
4. You can find the Solver on the Data tab, in the Analyze group.
Formulate the Model
The model we are going to solve looks as follows in Excel.
1. To formulate this linear programming model, answer the following three questions.
a. What are the decisions to be made? For this problem, we need Excel to find out how much to order of each product (bicycles, mopeds and child seats).
b. What are the constraints on these decisions? The constrains here are that the amount of capital and storage used by the products cannot exceed the limited amount of capital and storage (resources) available. For example, each bicycle uses 300 units of capital and 0.5 unit of storage.
![Solver Solver](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125834140/735483001.jpg)
c. What is the overall measure of performance for these decisions? The overall measure of performance is the total profit of the three products, so the objective is to maximize this quantity.
2. To make the model easier to understand, name the following ranges.
Range Name | Cells |
---|---|
UnitProfit | C4:E4 |
OrderSize | C12:E12 |
ResourcesUsed | G7:G8 |
ResourcesAvailable | I7:I8 |
TotalProfit | I12 |
3. Insert the following three SUMPRODUCT functions.
Explanation: The amount of capital used equals the sumproduct of the range C7:E7 and OrderSize. The amount of storage used equals the sumproduct of the range C8:E8 and OrderSize. Total Profit equals the sumproduct of UnitProfit and OrderSize.
Trial and Error
With this formulation, it becomes easy to analyze any trial solution.
For example, if we order 20 bicycles, 40 mopeds and 100 child seats, the total amount of resources used does not exceed the amount of resources available. This solution has a total profit of 19000.
It is not necessary to use trial and error. We shall describe next how the Excel Solver can be used to quickly find the optimal solution.
Solve the Model
To find the optimal solution, execute the following steps.
1. On the Data tab, in the Analyze group, click Solver.
Enter the solver parameters (read on). The result should be consistent with the picture below.
You have the choice of typing the range names or clicking on the cells in the spreadsheet.
2. Enter TotalProfit for the Objective.
3. Click Max.
4. Enter OrderSize for the Changing Variable Cells.
5. Click Add to enter the following constraint.
6. Check 'Make Unconstrained Variables Non-Negative' and select 'Simplex LP'.
7. Finally, click Solve.
Result:
The optimal solution:
Conclusion: it is optimal to order 94 bicycles and 54 mopeds. This solution gives the maximum profit of 25600. This solution uses all the resources available.
Solve optimization models in Excel Online and Excel on iPad, upward compatible from Solver in desktop Excel.
With the Solver add-in, created by Frontline Systems, developers of the Solver in Microsoft Excel, you can define and solve optimization problems in your Excel workbook, using Excel Online in Office 365, Excel on iPad, Excel 2013, or Excel 2016. Watch a 5-minute demo of this add-in on our YouTube channel.
Your model will be solved in the cloud. Note that this means your model must be stored in the cloud, specifically in an Office 365 or SharePoint document library, or in OneDrive or OneDrive for Business. The Solver add-in can be used in Excel 2013 and Excel 2016, but its backend server cannot access workbooks on your local hard disk.
Solver models that you may already have, created in old or new versions of Microsoft Excel, are automatically recognized by this Solver add-in. You can also define a completely new Solver model and solve it using this add-in; however, models created with this new add-in won’t be recognized automatically by the desktop Excel Solver.
All the solving methods and options available in the Excel Solver can be used:
- Simplex LP Solver
- GRG Nonlinear Solver
- Evolutionary Solver
- Integer and binary constraints
For a complete description, visit our Excel Solver Help and follow the steps to get the Solver add-in. You can create an Answer Report and/or a Sensitivity Report in Excel 2016, and soon in Excel Online or Excel on iPad, as long as Solver finds a feasible solution. But since VBA is not available online, Solver VBA macros cannot be used to control this Solver add-in. Otherwise, all the features, Solver Result messages, cautions and advice described in Excel Solver Help also apply to the Solver add-in.
For free use by everyone, problem size limits in this Solver add-in are the same as in the Excel Solver (200 decision variables and 100 constraints in addition to bounds on the variables). Limits on Solver subproblems and iterations operate just as they do in the Excel Solver, but the backend server currently limits solving time to 30 seconds. If you are using Frontline’s enhanced Solvers for desktop Excel and you ‘publish’ your model to Excel Online, you can solve much larger problems, use additional Solver engines and options, and use more solving time with this add-in, up to the limits of your desktop license.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Add-ins must be inserted into your Excel workbook to be used. To insert an add-in in Excel Online, you must be in Edit mode.
- You can see a Solver model in read-only mode, but before you change options or selections, ensure that you are in Edit mode.
- Before you click the Solve button, ensure that your workbook has been saved using File Save As. (In Edit mode your workbook is auto-saved, but only at intervals of about 30 seconds.)
When you click the Solve button in the add-in, your model is queued for solution by Frontline’s backend RASON® Server, running on Microsoft Azure. This has two implications:
- The RASON Server workers have a finite capacity, as currently provisioned (and paid for) by Frontline Systems. During periods of heavy use, there may be delays in solving.
- To solve your model, your Excel workbook must be temporarily copied to Azure storage (this copy is deleted after solving). Read our Privacy Policy for details.
If you need priority response time or you need to solve challenging large-scale conventional or stochastic optimization models -- up to the state of the art -- please contact Frontline Systems at [email protected] or 775-831-0300 about our enhanced Solvers and desktop + cloud licenses.