- 1). Open an instance of Excel. Go to "Tools" and click on "Solver". If you do not see it, click the "Microsoft Office" button, "Excel Options, Add-ins" category and click "Go". Check the box for "Solver Add-In" and click "OK" to install it. Click "Yes" to confirm the installation.
- 2). Click the "Solver" button on the "Data" tab. You must provide the Solver with at least three different sets of information. These should be your objective or target number, the variables that will define your target (changing cells), and your constraints (any assumptions which limit the parameters of the calculation).
- 3). Tell the Solver which cells you want to change. This can be one number such as "D3" or a range of numbers like "D3:D10". You can also click "Guess" and the Solver will guess which cells need to be changed based on your target calculation.
- 4). Specify any constraints on your model. This is an optional step. Click "Add" in the "Solver Parameters" dialog box. Complete the "Add-in Constraints". For instance if the answer must be more or less than a certain value than a certain value (cell D10), input this into the box. The expression "$D$3:$D$19>=$G$10" stipulates that the value of each cell in D2:D7 must be G16's value or greater. Use a less than symbol (<) to show this in the expression.
- 5). Click "Solve". The Solver will define an optional value for the objective or target cell based on the cells you asked it look at and the parameters set.
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