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Operations Research Models and Methods
 
Computation Section
Excel 2007/2008
Excel 2008 for Macs
 

Excel 2008 is a version of Microsoft Office introduced in early 2008 for Apple Computers. Unfortunately it does not include support for VBA. All the add-ins on this site are programmed with VBA, so the add-ins will not run with Excel 2008. This is really a disappointment to me. The best thing I can suggest to Mac users hoping to run the add-ins is to continue to use Excel 2004. For those with Intel Macs, it is possible to install Windows. Using Bootcamp, the computer will boot into Windows. Then the add-ins can be installed and used for Excel 2007.

There are also Windows emulators that allow Mac and Windows operating systems simultaneously. I use VM Fusion.

I'm sorry about Excel 2008. It looks like Microsoft has dealt a blow to my add-ins for Mac users. Microsoft has promised that Office 2010 for Macs will include VBA.
Excel 2007 for Windows
 

Excel 2007 is for Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system. It will not work with the Mac OS. You can install Windows on an Intel based Mac and then run Excel 2007.

Excel 2007 is quite improved compared to its predecessor Excel XP. Fortunately, the Jensen add-ins work correctly in most respects. I tried to correct most problems introduced by the new version, but may have missed a few. Download the Archive dated at or after July 3, 2007, and let me know if you discover any problems.

There are significant changes in the navigation of Excel. Access to features is no longer provided by extensive menus and submenus. The main menu bar no longer exists and there is no Tools menu. Instead there are a series of tabs that present ribbons indicating the tasks formerly described by the menus.

Many of the pages of this ORMM site show pictures of the menu structure, so rather than correct all references I provide this brief discussion of the navigational features necessary to use the add-ins.

 

Installing Add-ins

 

The upper left corner of the Excel display now holds an image called the Office Button. Clicking that button gives a list of recent documents and commands such as Save and Print formerly under the Files menu. At the lower bar of this display is a button called Excel Options. This opens a dialog with items that formerly were in the Preferences dialog. One new item on the list is Add-ins. Clicking this entry provides a list of active and inactive add-ins. Near the bottom of the page is a button called Manage: Excel Add-ins. Clicking that button opens the familiar add-in dialog box with the add-in names and checkboxes for selecting and deleting add-ins.

If you do not see an add-in on the list, click the Browse... button to search for it on your hard drive. The Add ORMM, Add OMIE and Add Teach OR can be installed at this point. Once these are installed, you can install and delete add-ins using these control add-ins.

To use an add-in you may have to respond to a message from the Trust Center. You must choose to open the macros.

 

Add-in Menus

 

The add-in menus were formerly placed on the main menu bar. In Excel 2007 the menus for the of installed add-ins are found under the Add-in tab. The menus are arrayed in a column on the left side of the window. When an add-in from the ORMM collection is installed the item OR_MM is part of the list. Clicking on that title reveals the menus of all the installed add-ins in the collection. Similarly, the OM/IE collection is under the OM_IE title, and the Teach OR collection is under the Teach title.

 

Excel Solver Add-in

  Some activities require that the Excel Solver dialog be opened before a mathematical programming model is created and solved. You may access Solver through the Data tab. Click the word Solver at the far right of the ribbon to open the dialog.

 

Functions
  Some of the add-ins create User-Defined functions. Examples are Random Variables, Queuing, and Economics add-ins. The forms built by an add-in create the references to these functions automatically. If you want to use the function outside a form choose the Formulas tab. Select the large fx that is at the left margin. Choose User Defined from the category list. The functions provided by add-ins are listed in the subsequent dialog. Click the function name to insert the function.

 

View
  Some pages are automatically split when the add-in creates a model. To change the view or remove the split choose the appropriate icon on the View tab. Do not use the page-layout view for add-ins.

 

VBA
  Access to the VBA editor is provided through the Developer tab. The Visual Basic icon is at the far left of the ribbon. Click to enter the VBA editor where the add-ins can be viewed and changed.
 



  
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