There have been several improvements made in Excel 2010 to the function library and the Solver add-in. The function improvements have been made to address issues reported in academic papers as well as customer feedback. To quote the Excel team blog:
“In Excel 2010, we made many improvements to Excel's function library. Excel 2010 will feature an accurate and consistent function library while remaining compatible with previous versions of Excel. “
In addition to the accuracy improvements, we also have introduced various new functions to the Excel function library to ensure that users have a consistent function library with implementations that match standard practices. As are result of these improvements, we have also made some UI changes to help users adopt the new functions.
Here are the blog posts that describe the function work in detail:
Excel 2010 will also provide an updated version of the Solver add-in:
- Function Improvements in Excel 2010
- Function Consistency Improvements in Excel 2010
- New Functions Bring New UI
“In Excel 2010, we have made a number of improvements to Solver that make it easy for beginners to get started and more advanced ones to find solutions to all types of problems. “
The Excel 2010 Solver will offer a new user interface, new solving methods and new reports. The UI for the Solver Parameter dialog has been improved to make it easier for users to navigate.
In addition to the UI changes, the new Solver will also feature 3 solving methods for solving spreadsheet optimization problems:
New reports added in the Excel 2010 Solver are:
- Simplex Method
- GRG Nonlinear Solver
- Evolutionary Solver
Enjoy!
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