15-09-2021

Frontline Excel Premium Solver Crack

  1. The Excel Solver is a product developed by Frontline Systems for Microsoft. OpenSolver has no affiliation with, nor is recommend by, Microsoft or Frontline Systems. All trademark terms are the property of their respective owners.
  2. And should be removed. For more information, click on GRG Solver Stopping Conditions. Stop chosen when the maximum iteration limit was reached. This message appears when (i) the Solver has completed the maximum number of iterations, or trial solutions, allowed in the Iterations box in the Solver Options dialog and (ii) you clicked on the Stop button when the Solver displayed the Show Trial.
Meta-Heuristic solvers

Re: Inclusion of Free Solver in Excel 2013. But Excel 2013 should come with a 'normal' excel solver and you have got. The Add-In Manager shows an advanced and costly variant of Solver as being present. The risk solver with all the bells and wistles that 'FrontlineSolvers' have managed to add to it. The 'Risk Solver Platform’s' main program.

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are about finding good decision values for complex models.
Meta-Heuristic Solvers have proven to be valuable in business practice. They usually provide an answer, often the best answer or a very useful answer. However, these solvers have the strange property that it's not clear how good the answer is, nor how long one should let the solver run. Some authorities recommend trying an Optimization Solver first, and if it is unsatisfactory, then try a Meta-Heuristic Solver. (Some of the commercial solvers will even make this choice for you!)

Premium Solver, Premium Solver Platform, RiskSolver Platformby Frontline Systems
'Evolutionary/Classical Solver uses genetic algorithm methods such as mutation, crossover, selection and constraint repair, but it also uses deterministic, gradient-free direct search methods, classical gradient-based quasi-Newton methods, and even the Simplex method for linear subsets of the constraints. The classical methods sometimes yield rapid local improvement of a trial solution, and they also help to solve for sets of constraints. This enables the hybrid Evolutionary / Classical Solver to handle problems with many constraints, which are typically beyond the capabilities of genetic and evolutionary algorithms alone.”
“The OptQuest Solver Engine uses tabu search and scatter search to solve nonsmooth optimization problems. It handles integer variables and the alldifferent constraint (i.e. permutations of sets of variables) as native types. ….”
“Evolveris the genetic algorithm optimization add-in for Microsoft Excel. Evolver uses innovative genetic algorithm (GA) technology to quickly solve optimization problems in finance, distribution, scheduling, resource allocation, manufacturing, budgeting, engineering, and more. Virtually any type of problem that can be modeled in Excel can be solved by Evolver, including previously unsolvable, complex nonlinear problems. “
“Generatoremploys all of the basic evolutionary processes: crossover, mutation, and natural selection. What distinguishes Generator from other commercial genetic algorithm software is that in Generator, users can fine-tune these parameters on the fly. In addition, Generator has special hill climbing features, recombination operators and mate selection processes to rapidly find the best solution.”

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OptWorksby SpaceWorks Software
'OptWorks: Excel software is a non-gradient optimization add-in for Microsoft Excel designed to solve complex optimization problems including financial analysis, logistics management, engineering, scientific analysis, and strategic investment planning. With a suite of eight non-gradient algorithms to choose from, you can rapidly attain optimal solutions for Excel-based problems with OptWorks.'

Solve XLby Diapason Consulting
“SolveXLis an add-in for Microsoft Excel which uses evolutionary algorithms to solve complex optimization problems. A user friendly Wizard with built-in help allows users to configure the tool easily and to perform optimizations. SolveXL goes much further than many other commercial products of this type and implements many types of single and multiple-objective genetic algorithms. Features: Single and multiple-objective optimization techniques; Support for integration with simulation packages; Suspend, resume and browse optimization interactively; Multiple-objective results browser; Batch runs; User defined constraints & penalty multipliers; Automatic saving of population; Backups of intermediate population; Graphical UI; Visualization of results and progress; Automation using VBA code.”

GANetXLby University of Exeter
“GANetXL is an optimisation add-in for Microsoft Excel. GANetXL uses genetic algorithms to solve complex optimisation and search problems. The application offers a user friendly interface to set up the optimisation problem and configure the algorithm. Unlike many other commercial products GANetXL allows solving single and multiple-objective optimisation problems. The software is provided FREE of charge for academic non-commercial research.”

Editor’s Note: This seems to be a non-commercial version of SolveXL.

“GeneHunter is a powerful software solution for optimization problems which utilizes a state-of-the-art genetic algorithm methodology. GeneHunter includes an Excel Add-In which allows the user to run an optimization problem from Microsoft Excel, as well as a Dynamic Link Library of genetic algorithm functions that may be called from programming languages such as Microsoft® Visual Basic or C.”


Contents
Solver and Conventional VBA
Avoiding Solver Reference Problems
Preparing Solver for First Use
Solver Links
Solver and Conventional VBA

Solver is a powerful analysis tool, bundled with Excel and used for optimization and simulation of business and engineering models. It can be even more powerful if used in conjunction with VBA, to automate solving of multiple models which use different input parameters and constraints.

In a simple example, there are two factors in B5 and B6. The product (=B5*B6) is calculated in B8. Solver will be used to find the maximum value of the target cell (the product in B8), subject to the constraint that both factors (B5:B6) shall not exceed a value of 4. Select Solver from the Tools menu, and enter the appropriate conditions and constraints in the Solver Parameters dialog.

Click the Solve button, and another dialog indicates whether a solution is found and offers some options.

If you record a macro while you use Solver, you will get something like the following:

Frontline

SolverAdd adds constraints to the Solver model. SolverOK defines the cell to optimize, how to optimize it, and what cells to change during the Solver optimization. The macro recorder wrote this line twice, so the first occurrence can be removed. To prevent parameters from a different Solver optimization interfering with the macro's optimization, Solver should be reset prior to running, using SolverReset. SolverSolve has an optional UserFinish argument; if UserFinish is False or omitted, the second dialog shown above will ask the user whether to save the optimization, but if UserFinish is True, Solver will end without the dialog. A modified Solver macro is shown below:

When you try to run this macro, you get a compile error. The command SolverReset is highlighted, and the following error message appears.

In order to use a macro based on an installed add-in, you must first make sure that the add-in is installed, then you must set a reference to the add-in in the workbook containing the code that calls the add-in's procedures.

To install an add-in, on Excel's Tools menu, choose Add-Ins. If the add-in is shown on the list, check the box in front of its name. If the add-in is not found, click Browse, navigate to the add-in file*, then when it appears on the add-in list, check its checkbox. Solver was already installed, or we would not have been able to record a macro using it.

*Depending on your Office and Windows versions, the default Excel add-ins library is 'C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOFFICE15Library' or 'C:Documents and Settings{username}Application DataMicrosoftAddIns'. By default in Excel 2013, Solver is located in 'C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOFFICE15LibrarySOLVER'.

To set a reference to an add-in, it must first be installed. Then on the VB Editor's Tools menu, select References. This lists all open workbooks and installed add-ins, as well as a huge list of resources installed on the host computer. Find the add-in in the list, and check the box in front of its name.

With a reference set to Solver, SolverMacro2 will run as expected. In addition, the Solver library will be accessible through the VB Editor's Object Browser (right), and you will have the benefit of Intellisense (below) while editing code that uses members of the Solver library.


Avoiding Solver Reference Problems

The code you write to run Solver will work on your computer, and on any computer with the same versions of Excel and Solver. In fact, it should work on any computer that has later versions of Excel and Solver. If you want to distribute your workbook with VBA code written for Solver, you should write the code using the earliest expected version of Excel, so it will work on all versions that users may have installed. When the workbook is first opened on a given computer, it finds the references resources, or more recent versions if available.

This sounds easy, but sometimes it isn't. Perhaps you developed a workbook in Excel 2013 for your department to use, but you have to send it to a supplier, and the supplier hasn't upgraded past Excel 2007. Or perhaps the workbook must be shared amongst a group of users who have different versions of Excel and Solver installed. In these cases, a computer with an earlier version of Solver installed will choke on the reference to a later version of Solver.

It is possible, of course, to install add-ins and set references using VBA. This can be tricky, the user has to grant permission for VBA code to access any VB projects. Without this permission, references to installed components cannot be set.

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To avoid issues with installing add-ins and setting references to various resources, your code can be modified so that it is called using Application.Run. Without a reference to the add-in, you lose IntelliSense and the Object Browser, and your code suffers from a small (probably imperceptible) performance penalty. However, you gain simpler, more reliable execution. The syntax is straightforward: Application.Run is followed by the procedure name in double quotes, followed by a comma separated list of arguments being passed to the procedure:

If Application.Run is used to return the calculated result of a function, the syntax is slightly different, with a variable set equal to Application.Run, with the procedure and arguments enclosed within parentheses:

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The SolverMacro2 procedure above is easily modified to use Application.Run:

A more general version of a Solver procedure is shown below. This includes more informative comments, and it provides a notice to the user about the success of the Solver optimization. Note that before Excel 2007, the name of the solver add-in was 'Solver.xla', not 'Solver.xlam'.

The results of the SolverSolve function include:

Preparing Solver for First Use

One frequent complaint about automating Solver is that it doesn't work using VBA until it has been used at least once manually. This is because Solver installs itself in a kind of 'on demand' mode. Unlike a regularly-installed add-in, it is not opened until it is first used. And until it is first used, it hasn't run its Auto_Open procedure, which is what actually prepares it to run. Using VBA you can bypass the initial manual Solver operation with this command:

This command should be run before the first Solver optimization procedure is executed. I have developed a Solver initialization routine that first makes sure the computer even has Solver, then it installs it and runs its Auto_Open procedure. The procedure is written as a function, which returns True if Solver is available and ready to use. I usually call this procedure from the parent workbook's Workbook_Open event procedure. If CheckSolver is False, I usually have the workbook close itself after a brief warning to the user.

The function above works fine for English versions of Excel, but in other languages, the name of the add-in may not be 'Solver Add-In'. We have to be a bit more clever, and introduce a loop to check the filenames of all add-ins. The CheckSolverIntl function below calls two additional functions which perform the loops. This function still relies on Solver being named 'solver.xlam'. If this is not the case, for example, in different language versions of Excel, change the value of the constant sAddIn in this procedure, and please email me about it.

Solver Links

Frontline Systems
Frontline Systems has developed Solver add-ins for Excel and other applications. The standard Excel Solver add-in can be upgraded to a premium Solver version or to other specialized Solvers, and there are versions for use with other programming platforms. While the capabilities of Solver are very extensive, the online documentation is somewhat sparse.

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