On Windows, Solver may be added in by going to File (in Excel 2007 it’s the top left Windows button) > Options > Add-ins, and under the Manage drop-down choosing Excel Add-ins and pressing the ...

Now open Solver and follow the steps below: Set the objective by selecting the cell that calculates total pay. Choose whether to maximize, minimize, or set a specific value.

Along with Visual Basic for Applications, the scripting language used in many business-oriented spreadsheets, Excel also lost Solver when it was upgraded to be included in Office 2008. Since ...