Using Solver
Before you can use Solver in Excel 2003, you may need to load
the Add-In for it into the Excel installation on your lab computer.
1. Click on the Tools menu and select Solver. This will open the window shown below.
2. Enter the four parameters needed by solver.
- Target Cell: The ‘Answer’ cell for the Objective Function row. Just position the cursor in the Target Cell input box, and then select the desired cell.
- Equal to Max\Min: Indicates whether we are trying to maximize (Max) or minimize (Min) the result. In this example, we want Min
- By Changing Cells: The cells solver will change to get the final answer. These are the cells for the variable values. We named those cells, so enter that name ‘variables’ here.
- Subject to the Constraints: Enter the constraints for the linear programming problem by clicking ‘Add’ and providing the information requested in the ‘Add Constraint’ dialog. Repeat the process until all of the constraints have been entered.