Troubleshooting

Try these in order:

1. Reload the page. The menu is added when the spreadsheet opens, so a sheet that was already open before you installed won't show it yet.
2. Check it's installed: Extensions›Add-ons›Manage add-ons. If Solvella isn't listed, install it again.
3. Signed in to more than one Google account? Add-ons can get confused by this. Open the spreadsheet in a private or incognito window signed in to just the account you installed Solvella with.
4. Is it an Excel file? Add-ons don't run on .xlsx files. Use File›Save as Google Sheets and open the copy.
5. Can you edit the sheet? With view-only or comment access, add-ons don't appear. Ask the owner for edit access, or make a copy.
6. Work or school account? Your administrator may need to allow Solvella first.

It means no values can meet all your limits at the same time. Usually one limit is set up wrong:

• A sign pointing the wrong way, such as >= where you meant <=.
• Limits that fight each other, such as "at least 10 tables" and "at most 5 tables".
• Wrong cells: the left side should be a formula that depends on the variable cells.
• Negative values needed? If a variable can go below zero, untick Make unconstrained variables non-negative.

To find the culprit, remove limits one at a time (select one and press Delete) and solve again. When it solves, the last one you removed is the problem.

Solver can make the objective as big (or small) as it likes, so a limit is missing. For example, nothing stops it making a million chairs. Add the missing limit and solve again.

• Check the cells are linked: the Set cell must be a formula that changes when the By changing cell changes.
• The target may be impossible, like a repayment below zero. Goal Seek leaves the closest value it found; press Undo to put the old one back.
• Start closer: type a rough guess into the By changing cell and try again.

Same rule as Excel. The cells Solver or Goal Seek changes have to hold plain numbers, because they get overwritten. Type a number (0 is fine) into them first.

Solvella never writes over cells that already have something in them. Choose New worksheet as the output, pick an empty Output Range, or tick Overwrite if you're sure.

Free covers Goal Seek, linear Solver with up to 15 variable cells, the Answer report and the standard Data Analysis tools. Pro adds nonlinear and integer Solver, bigger models, the Sensitivity report, multi-cell Goal Seek, scenarios, full regression output and logistic regression. See prices

Free trial: the first time you use Solvella, every Pro feature is on for 7 days, with no card. Extensions›Solvella›Account & upgrade shows how many days are left. When it ends you're on Free, and anything you made with Pro stays in your sheets. There's one trial per Google account, so reinstalling doesn't start a new one. If the add-on couldn't reach our server the first time (for example on a blocked network), the trial starts the next time it can.

On Free, picking a Pro option shows a short card explaining it, with the prices. You can close the card, or use the button next to it (such as Use Simplex LP) to go back to a Free option.

To turn Pro on after buying:

1. Copy the licence key from your receipt email.
2. Click Extensions›Solvella›Account & upgrade.
3. Paste the key into Licence key and press Activate.

Lost your key? Email solvella-support@googlegroups.com from the address you paid with.

Most models solve in about a second. If yours uses a function the fast mode doesn't cover, such as VLOOKUP, Solvella lets Sheets recalculate for every try instead, which gives the same answer more slowly. Moving the model to its own small sheet helps.

No. Everything is calculated inside the spreadsheet you open Solvella in. Your cells, formulas and results never reach us. Privacy policy