Microsoft KB Archive/78756

{| = Excel: Solver Cannot Constrain Value to Multiple of a Value =
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Last reviewed: November 30, 1994

Article ID: Q78756 The information in this article applies to:
 * Microsoft Excel for Windows versions 3.0, 4.0
 * Microsoft Excel for OS/2 version 3.0

SUMMARY
The Solver program that comes with Microsoft Excel cannot force an adjustable cell value to be a multiple of a specified value. The Set cell value also cannot be constrained to a multiple of a certain value in a Max or Min problem.

MORE INFORMATION
Often, it would be desirable to have the adjustable variables or optimal solution of a Solver model result in a multiple of a certain value. One example is an investment transaction to purchase bonds in $1000 lots. It may be impossible to purchase $750 of a bond with a $1000 face value; thus, a result that is a multiple of 1000 would be more appropriate.

To constrain an adjustable cell to a multiple of another value, the MOD function, with the adjustable cell as the number argument and the multiple as the divisor argument, would be constrained to a value of zero. Solver is not able to &quot;back-solve&quot; (that is, calculate the inverse for) this type of model.