INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  Changes to the Solver parameters box in Excel

    Posted 11-02-2025 19:18

    This message is intended for those who encourage their students to solve LP problems using the Solver in Excel.

    I added-in the Solver in Excel (part of the latest version of Microsoft 365) yesterday, and found that the Solver parameters box had completely changed. I presume that this change took place in 2025, possibly quite recently. The file Solver.pdf shows a completed parameters box using the old format. The file Solver-Screenshot.pdf shows the new format (before filling in the data); it opens to the right of the worksheet. Have any of you had any experience with this new format?

    It appears that I will have to re-write sections 2.7.2 and 2.7.3 of Decision Modelling (free download at https://linney.mun.ca/pages/view.php?ref=36808).

    --
    David M. Tulett, PhD
    Retired from the
    Faculty of Business Administration
    Memorial University
    St. John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3X5
    dtulett@mun.ca
    “... read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest ...”

    We acknowledge that the lands on which Memorial University’s campuses are situated are in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, and we acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit of this province.

    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Solver-Screenshot.pdf   13 KB 1 version
    pdf
    Solver.pdf   482 KB 1 version


  • 2.  RE: Changes to the Solver parameters box in Excel

    Posted 11-03-2025 02:35
    Edited by Andrew Mason 11-03-2025 03:09

    Thanks for the heads up on this. We developed OpenSolver, so I take a close interest in the Excel add-in ecosystem. Both Solver and OpenSolver are written using VBA, which is a very old technology. Microsoft are showing less support for VBA over time. For example. the RefEdit control that both the old Solver and OpenSolver use is disabled by default in the latest versions of Excel. (It can be turned back on; see opensolver.org if you want the details.) But, it looks to me as though Solver has switched to Excel's latest Javascript API, so the new Solver is running in a small browser window. (My university Excel has not made this change, so I cannot test this. Business versions of Office change more slowly, so this will likely be a time of gentle transition.) The early Javascript API's were somewhat limited, but I assume they have got better now. It will be interesting to see how the change to Javascript alters the speed of model building and solving, plus the solution report formats etc. I look forward to hearing about people's experiences.



    ------------------------------
    Andrew Mason
    Associate Professor
    University of Auckland
    Auckland
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Changes to the Solver parameters box in Excel

    Posted 11-04-2025 09:36

    Hi David,

    You are probably clicking on the Solver app as opposed to the traditional Solver, which still exists under the Data tab. See attached screenshots.

    Raghav



    ------------------------------
    Raghav Singal
    Assistant Professor
    Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
    Hanover NH
    ------------------------------



Related Content