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Download Solver for Macintosh Excel 2008

Download Solver for Macintosh Excel 2008

If you're using Excel 2008 on the Macintosh, you're invited to download and install Solver for Excel 2008 here.  It's free and available to all Mac users, courtesy of Frontline Systems -- with special thanks to the Microsoft Mac Business Unit for its generous assistance with Excel issues, localization, and QA testing. 

Read the FAQ to learn how Solver for Excel 2008 was developed, special considerations in using this Solver versus the one in Excel 2004, and what to expect in the future.

What You Need

To use Solver, you must have Excel 12.1.2 or later.  To check your version, start Excel and select About Excel from the Excel menu.  You can get 12.1.2 three ways: (i) use Microsoft AutoUpdate, which runs weekly by default if you've opted in; (ii) start Excel and select Check for Updates from the Help menu; (iii) to download 12.1.2 manually, visit www.officeformac.com and click Downloads at the top of the page.  If you're starting from 12.1.0, you must install 12.1.1, then install 12.1.2.

Downloading Solver

To download Solver for Excel 2008, just fill out the form below, and click the Download Now button. (It's OK if you've registered on this site previously with the same email address.)  Turn off pop-up blockers if necessary.  Allow up to 30 seconds for the Downloads dialog to appear in Safari.  Solver.app.zip (about 1.5 MB) should download and appear in your Downloads folder.

User Type

Email address

Name First Last

Company/University

We'd appreciate your (real) email address -- it's the only thing we ask for this free Solver.  If we send you any email, we'll make it useful, and you can always opt out or unsubscribe at any time. But if you really don't want to give an email address, you can enter info@solver.com above.

Next, just double-click Solver.app.zip to unpack it, and move the unpacked Solver.app to your /Applications folder (or to any other folder you like).  If you plan to use Solver a lot, drag the icon to your Dock.

Using Solver

To use Solver, first start Excel 2008, create or open your workbook, and make any changes you want.  When you're ready to use Solver, click the Solver icon in your Dock (or double-click the Solver icon in your /Applications folder). The Solver Parameters dialog should appear.  If you're using English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch or Swedish, Solver dialogs, messages and reports should appear in your language; however, Solver Help is available only in English.

Use the Solver Parameters dialog to select your objective (Target Cell), decision variables (Changing Cells), and Constraints.  Then click the Solve button.  Solver will seek the optimal solution to the problem.  When it's finished, the Solver Results dialog will appear, and the final values of the Changing Cells will appear in your workbook in Excel.  To pause or stop Solver while it's solving, press the ESC key, and click Stop (or Continue) when the Trial Solution dialog appears.

Caution:  Don't make changes yourself in Excel or your workbook while Solver is solving.  And don't leave the Solver Parameters dialog open while you are making changes in Excel.  Start Solver and use the Solver Parameters dialog only when you need it to solve a problem, then click Solve.  (Changes in Excel while the Solver Parameters dialog is open, or while Solver is solving, will have unpredictable results, including crashes in Solver or Excel.  See the FAQ about Solver as a Separate Application.)

If you need technical support, please contact Frontline Systems at support@solver.com or phone at 775-831-0300 during normal business hours, Pacific time (GMT-7).