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Excel 16.45 Mac Add-in Problem

Anonymous
2021-01-17T00:53:16+00:00

I get the following message just below the ribbon every time I start Excel on my MacBook Pro after having quit the application.

Add-in Problem Sorry, we couldn't find Solver.xlam. Is it possible it was moved, renamed or deleted?

I have never installed any add-ins on my Mac so the box is empty when going to Install > Add-ins > My Add-ins (all the heavy lifting is done on my PC and, FWIW, I've never activated this particular add-in there either). It's a minor annoyance - the program runs okay after hitting the "x" and doesn't reappear until I've quit and then restarted Excel. But something is wrong and I'd like to fix it!

Thanks,

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2021-01-19T22:52:54+00:00

Hi again,

I can't say that I especially like the results of opening a JSON file in either Excel for Windows (left) or Mac (right) of this screen shot.

The recursive nature of the particular JSON file I tested does not give a good result.

Regarding solver, it should be inside the Microsoft Excel.app

With Excel not running, right-click on the Microsoft Excel.app in Finder and choose Open Package Contents

Navigate to this folder and you should find the file Solver.xlam

If the add-in isn't there, then there is a problem with the installer. Try removing the Microsoft Excel.app and use the other installer I suggested.

If the add-in is there, make a copy of the file (right-click and then choose Duplicate). Then drag the copy and put it somewhere you can find it, such as the Documents folder.

Then close all the Finder windows and open Excel. Go to to the Tools > Excel Add-ins menu and click the Browse button. Choose the Solver.xlam add-in you saved.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-01-20T00:37:59+00:00

    Jim:

    I'm good to go now. I read through your note before trying anything and noticed that you were going to the Tools > Excel Add-ins menu. I had been looking at the Insert > Add-ins > My Add-ins menu and there was nothing there. Found the Solver Add-in under Add-ins available and cleared the check mark. Quit Excel and brought it back up and the error notice wasn't there. Went back to the menu and checked the box, quit Excel and restarted. No error message. Looks like it may have been as simple as that. And working with JSON files in Excel isn't fun but that's what the US Commerce Department has opted for and 90% of the time the file is corrupt (it's a zipped download). Their response - we're aware that there may be some ongoing issues and we've found the data downloads best on Saturdays. Gotta love 'em. Thanks for all your work, very much appreciated.

    Bob

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-01-19T05:08:10+00:00

    Adding to my earlier reply. Uninstalled all the Office apps and reinstalled Office 365 for the Mac using the installer. Still getting the same add-in problem message.

    Bob

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-01-17T20:23:28+00:00

    Thanks for the quick reply. I should have added that I'd moved the Excel app to trash and downloaded it again. Rather than running the installer, I chose to download the program from the App Store instead (not sure if that makes a difference) and the error is still there. And while it may well be that the Mac and Windows versions share the same code, I find the Mac version severely lacking when it comes to data analysis. The Department of Commerce has their tariff data in a downloadable JSON file and the file can be easily parsed in the Windows version of Excel - not so in the Mac version. You're also limited in the data sources when analyzing external data - haven't figured out a way to quickly convert a spreadsheet of say sales data with row labels of a product and dates as column headers into a database format (a reverse pivot table, I guess). Very simple in the Windows version.  I do have a full version of Office 365 for Windows installed in a VMWare Fusion VM but I'd much prefer to not have to go that route - especially with Apple's move to the M1 chip.

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  4. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-01-17T02:25:27+00:00

    Hi Hankerin

    An install issue is rare, but this appears like it might be one. Let's test the hypothesis.

    Go to the application folder. Drag Microsoft Excel.app to the trash.

    Download and run the installer: Install package

    Restart your Mac and test again.

    Fixed?

    BTW - what heavy lifting are you referring to? Excel Mac and Windows share the same code base. Both should be equally capable.

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