SolveXL is an add-in for Microsoft Excel® which uses evolutionary algorithms to solve complex optimization problems. The application is written in C and exploits a COM interface to interact with Microsoft Excel®.
- Software - solver xlam. Simple Solver, Quadratic Equation Solver, Gecode x64.
- With this 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.
09-March-2020: We have recently released the beta version of OpenSolver 2.9.3. Free feel to read the release notes for the changes and new features added. Please let us know if they are any issues or problems that you have encountered by commenting on the bottom of the OpenSolver 2.9.3 post.
OpenSolver is updated whenever new features are added or bugs fixed. Please check out the blog page for release details. You can also use the built-in update checker to keep up-to-date with the latest release.
OpenSolver comes in two versions, a simpler “linear” version and an “advanced” (non-linear) version with support for more solvers, including non-linear solvers. Both versions are available for Mac and Windows. On Windows, OpenSolver should work with Excel 2007 and later; we test it on 32 and 64 bit Windows 7/10 in Excel 2010/2013/2016. (Older versions worked with Excel 2003, but we don’t test this any more.) On Mac OS X, it should work using Excel for Mac 2011 with any version of OS X newer than 10.7.
OpenSolver for Mac: OpenSolver currently has limited support for Excel 2016 for Mac. Version 2.8.3 of OpenSolver includes initial support for Excel 2016 for Mac, and supports model creation and modification, as well as solving with the CBC and Gurobi solvers. Make sure your version of Excel 2016 is at least 15.28 for this to work. Unfortunately, the late 2018 release of Excel 16.16.7 has broken OpenSolver; if you can help us debug this, please email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required. However, our user Alexander reported in April 2019 that “OpenSolver works for MacOS HighSierra with the latest Excel update 16.24, but if you upgrade your OS to Mojave it no longer works.” (Thanks, Alexander.)
Windows July 2016 Office Security Update Microsoft updated the security requirements for add-ins in July 2016. You now need to “Unblock” the .zip file before extracting the files; please see the instructions below and this help item.
Available Downloads
OpenSolver Linear: This is the simpler version that solves linear models using the COIN-OR CBC optimization engine, with the option of using Gurobi if you have a license. Most people use this version.
OpenSolver Advanced (Non-Linear): As well as the linear solvers, this version includes various non-linear solvers and support for solving models in the cloud using NEOS; more info is here. Much of this code is still new and experimental, and so may not work for you.
You can see all our downloads, including previous versions, on our Open Solver Source Forge site.
To download and use OpenSolver:
- Download the OpenSolver Linear zip file (either Mac or Windows, selected automatically depending on the machine you are using to visit this page). You can also try out our experimental Advanced Non-linear OpenSolver for Windows (also available for Mac) for access to non-linear solvers.
- Right click the downloaded zip file, choose Properties, and click the “Unblock” button or checkbox. If you don’t see this button (or an equivalent checkbox), you can skip this step. (This step is a new requirement following a July 2016 update to Excel.)
Close the Properties window. - Extract the files to a convenient location. (All files and sub-folders, including OpenSolver.xlam, must stay together; please do not move any files or folders out of the unzipped OpenSolver folder.) OpenSolver on Windows may not work if installed to an unmapped directory such as servermyfiles or one that contains unicode characters.
- Double click on OpenSolver.xlam. There may then be a small wait as Excel checks the digital signature on the OpenSolver code.
- If asked in an Excel Security Notice, give Excel permissions to enable the OpenSolver macros. You can click Trust all from Publisher if you do not want to be shown the Excel Security Notice again.
- The OpenSolver commands will then appear under Excel’s Data tab on Windows, or in the Menu Bar on a Mac.
- If using Excel for Mac 2016, follow the instructions further down the page to set up the solvers
- OpenSolver relies on open source solvers developed by COIN-OR; please consider donating to COIN-OR.
Signed Code: Note that as of October 2014, the OpenSolver code is signed by the publisher “The University of Auckland”. This makes the code more secure. However, Excel will occasionally need to check the digital signature by contacting servers online, which can take a few seconds.
Support our Solver Community: OpenSolver includes open source solvers developed by COIN-OR. Without these, OpenSolver would not exist. Please support our solver developers by donating to COIN-OR.
Make OpenSolver Installation Permanent: OpenSolver will be available until you quit Excel. If you wish, there are two ways you can make OpenSolver permanently available in Excel. Either, use OpenSolver… About OpenSolver…. and check “Load OpenSolver when Excel starts”, or you can copy the files from the .zip into the Excel add-in directory. This is typically:
Windows XP:C:Documents and Settings'user name'Application DataMicrosoftAddins
Windows Vista and later (7, 8, 8.1):C:Users'user name'AppDataRoamingMicrosoftAddins
Mac OSX:/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Add-Ins
The Excel Solver is a product developed by Frontline Systems for Microsoft. OpenSolver has no affiliation with, nor is recommended by, Microsoft or Frontline Systems. All trademark terms are the property of their respective owners.
Installing Solvers on Excel for Mac 2016
If you are running Excel 2016 on Mac, you need to install the solvers after unzipping OpenSolver. Inside the unzipped folder, go to Solvers/osx you will find a file called “OpenSolver Solvers.pkg”. Open this file and click through the prompt to set up the solvers on your computer (you will need to enter the administrator password to do so). After this you will be able to use OpenSolver as normal.
Using Gurobi on Excel for Mac 2016
Because of the sandbox, Gurobi is unable to find its license file when we start it from OpenSolver. This can be fixed by copying the license file “gurobi.lic” (which usually is in your home folder) to the following folder:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data
Alternatively, you can open a terminal and paste the following command to put the license file in the right place (if your license file is in a non-default location you will need to modify this command first):
cp ~/gurobi.lic ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data
Why do we need an installer for Excel 2016 on Mac?
Office for Mac 2016 is sandboxed, meaning that it can only run executables that are located in a set of whitelisted directories on the computer. We need to place the Solvers directory into one of these whitelisted locations so that we can run the solver binaries for OpenSolver. This folder is write-protected and needs admin privilege to modify, so we provide the installer to streamline the setup process.
A reader of mine Stephen Chan asked me some time ago how to download the excel solver add in for 2003, 2007 and 2010, I didn’t have the files for windows OS and Mac back then until now that I was solving a linear programming problem which required solver add-in for excel to solve.
With my ordeal searching for how to download and install Microsoft Excel Analysis Toolpak Add-In I thought that I should also share the Excel Solver add-in download and installation with you. I know that many people are vigorously looking for this Microsoft Excel Solver Add-In and many have probably given up the search and have gone ahead to buy and install a new Microsoft Office suite.
Microsoft excel solver add in is basically used in solving a range of mathematical and statistical problems. It is a particularly handy tool for those of us in business school. If you take classes like Business Statistics, Managerial Economics and the introductory College Algebra, you are definitely going to have Microsoft Excel Add-in installed assuming you don’t have it installed already.
You might ask how do I know if my current Microsoft office suite does not have solver add-in, you will know if when you try to load it, you get an error dialog that the following files are missing:
Solver.dll
Solver.xla
Okay enough of the dribble, let’s get down to practicals. Now I am going to show you how to download and install Microsoft Office Excel Solver Add In:
Download Microsoft Office Solver Add In:
Click here to download: Excel Solver Add-In
Solver Xlam Download Free
Go to your download folder or the directory on your computer where you downloaded the file above. Unzip the zipped folder by right clicking on it and clicking on “extract file” take note of the directory and the extracted file’s name.
Installation of Excel Solver Add-In:
Solver Xlam Download
Run your Microsoft Office excel program, select tools, then add-ins. Click on the browse button and find solver.xla file in the zipped folder you extracted above, don’t worry about the solver.dll as it will be automatically loaded. You will notice that the “solver add-in” option is now available, then click “OK”, after that click on tools, you will now see the solver option.
If you have any questions or comments about this guide please add it in the comment section below, I would appreciate your feedback.