How to Use What-if Analysis Function in Spreadsheets 2013

Kingsoft Spreadsheets provides the what-if analysis function, which includes Goal Seek and Solver Parameters. Learn how to use these two functions in Spreadsheets
2013.
Goal Seek
The Goal Seek function in Spreadsheets allows users to obtain the value in the changing cell when a result value is assumed for a formula. For example, an employee
has already known the product sales price is $80 and the production cost is $50, and he wants to know how much the product sales should be when the expected total
profit reaches $15000.
To use this function, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Create a worksheet containing the product sales information. The value in B3 is unknown and no need to enter data in it. Enter the formula = (B1-B2)*B3 in
B4.
Step 2 Click the What-If Analysis icon in the Data tab and choose Goal Seek in the drop-down list. The Goal Seek dialogue box will open and show as below:
Figure 1 The Goal Seek
dialogue box
Step 3 Select cell B4 in
the Set cell section,
enter 15000 in the To
value enter box, and
select B3 in the By
changing cell section.
Step 4 Click OK to

complete the operation. You can see the result as shown below:
Figure 2 Goal Seek Status
Step 5 Click OK to preserve
the result.
Solver Parameters
Simply speaking, Solver
Parameters can help you
forecast the problem which
contains more than one
variable. For example, the
shopkeeper wants to know which kinds of pens he should sell and the potential revenue. Assuming that there are three kinds of pens, namely gel pen, pen, and ball
pen, and their prices are $1, $2, and $2.5.
To use this function, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Create a worksheet containing the product sales information. See below:

Figure 3 Worksheet containing the information

Step 2 The target cell, here G4, is achieved by adding the three variable cells, namely D6, D10, D14. Whereas the value in the three variable cells are achieved by
multiply the price with the volume of sales of each kinds of pen separately. The constrains area contains limiting conditions. You can list them down to help you
organize your thoughts.
Step 3 In the Data tab, select the Solver Parameters in the What-If Analysis drop-down list. The Solver Parameters dialogue box will open and show as below:

Figure 4 Set the Solver Parameters dialogue

box
Step 4 Select the target cell in the Set
Objective section. Here we choose cell G4.
Step 5 Choose Max in the To section to get
the possible maximum revenue.
Step 6 Select the changing cells in the By
Changing Variable Cells section. He we
select cell D5, D9, and D13.
Step 7 Click Add to add constraints. The
Add Constraint dialogue box will open and
show as below:
Figure 5 The Add Constraint dialogue box
Step 8 The three constrains in Figure 4
means that first, the total sales volume
should be less than or equal to the maximum
sales volume of all pens, here 500; second,
the sales volume of pen and ball pen should
be less than or equal to the maximum sales
volume of pen and ball pen, here 350; third,
the sales volume of ball pen should be less than or equal to the maximum sales volume of ball pen, here 125.
Step 9 Choose the Simplex LP option as the solving method.
Step 10 Click Solve to complete the operation.
Step 11 Click OK to solve the results. See below:

Figure 6 The Solver Results

dialogue box
The solver results will be like
below:

Figure 7 The results of solver parameters

You can see the possible maximum revenue is $ 912.5. At this point, the shopkeeper have to sell 150 gel pen, 225 pen, and 125 ball pen.