Can anyone translate this for me?

[jksmith8508]

Hi All,

 

My name is Josh and I have a formula question that has been bothering me for years. I finally got it out to an expert and I think he understands what I am looking for. Here is a summary of what I am looking for -

 

 

1. I want find out how many permutations are possible. I want to take a combination of 9 values out of a possible 52-390 (52 is the minimum, 390 is the max possible values) and find out how many permutations are there without repeating.
   
2. The combined values of the 9 values must equal exactly 60,000 - no value less or more than 60,000 will be accepted
   
3. The values will change on a daily basis, however they will never drop below 3500 and will rarely go above 13000
   

 

I have attached a conversation with an expert to fill out all of the details. Can anyone crack this code?

 

[Operator] Hi - How may we help you?

[Visitor] I have a question about constructing an excel formula

[Visitor] Am I in the right place?

[Visitor] I don't have any excel files yet, I want to know if this formula is possible before I invest.

[Operator] Sure - if you can explain what you are trying to accomplish, we'll let you know if we believe it can be done or not.

[Visitor] a 11000

b 7600

c 4200

d 3600

e 7500

f 9300

g 8400

h 8100

i 4200

j 4200

k 4800

l 5100

m 5300

n 4000

o 9900

p 10300

q 6300

r 7400

s 8000

t 3500

u 3800

v 4500

w 6600

x 8200

y 7800

z 7300

 

[Visitor] Is it possible to make a formula based off of these two sets?

[Visitor] I want to know all possible permutations without repeating the possible combinations from 9 to make 60,000

[Visitor] Im sorry, its hard for me to explain without know the jargon..

[Operator] That's all right, please continue.

[Visitor] Basically the value of a is 11,000. the value of b is 7600 and so on. I want know how many combinations exist that can equal 60,000 for example

[Operator] Sounds like an interesting math problem.

[Operator] May I ask what the purpose of this is?

[Visitor] So, lets say a, f, k, n, q, t, u, v and z (9 values) equal 60,000.

[Visitor] I want to know the other combinations of 9 equal 60,000. Would this be called a permutation?

[Operator] I suppose so.

[Operator] Is knowing the other combinations of 9 numbers that equal 60,000 going to be of sufficient value to you, to make it worth spending the money we will charge to figure it out?

[Visitor] yes

[Visitor] However I don't want to pay for someone to figure it out, I only want to pay if it is possible

[Operator] I see.

[Operator] Well this is not a typical problem we help people solve.

[Visitor] I want a faster way to make combinations. I could go through these values within 5 minutes and make maybe 5 or 10 combinations. I want a formula that calculates ALL possible combinations in a small amount of time

[Operator] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=How+many+combinations+of+9+numbers+%3D+60000

[Operator] I see.

[Operator] Well we are going to need some time to consider your request.

[

[Visitor] The number of values to use can range from lets say 26 to around 370. But, I can only use 9 values to calculate the 60,000. I want to know how many combinations are possible

[Operator] Sure and we are talking about the sum of the 9 values, correct?

[Visitor] the 60,000 is the amount that will not change in the formula

[Visitor] Yes the sum of the 9 values = 60000

[Visitor] how many of those are possible, and what is the data

[Operator] Do you want a system that will be flexible and allow you to specify a different number of values say 8 instead of 9 and then determine the number of permutations?

[Visitor] I am comfortable settling for 9 at this time

[Operator] Do you need to be able to specify to this program the number of decimal places to the left of the decimal point that are allowed? So for example the 9 values may only be consist of single decimal, 2 decimals, etc.?

[Visitor] I'm sorry, I need more education on this

[Visitor] The values will always range from the minimum of 3500

[Operator] So let's say 59991+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1

[Visitor] and will rarely be higher than 13000

[Operator] Do you need to be able to enter a minimum and maximum value for the 9 values?

[Operator] Minimum=1300

[Operator] Maximum=13000

[Visitor] No

[Visitor] I will be importing these values from a different spread sheet, it will change every day

[Operator] I see, do you want the import process automated, or are you going to manual copy and pastes or re-key the values into this spreadsheet?

[Visitor] I will manual copy/paste or re-key

[Operator] all right.

[Operator] So the numbers will rarely be higher than 13000 but numbers higher than 13000 are acceptable?

[Visitor] Yes. If the data from that day has a value higher than 13000, then it does

[Visitor] But the numbers will never be below 3500

[Operator] all right and so there may be values lower than 3500?

[Operator] Got it.

[Operator] Am I to understand that you only want whole numbers no decimal places to the right of the decimal point?

[Visitor] Correct. The combination of the 9 values have to be spot on 60,000. Nothing above or below

[Operator] all 9 values must be whole numbers?

[Visitor] Yes. The 9 values will always be whole numbers

[Operator] So the nine values will be keyed in from another spreadsheet or copied from it.

[Visitor] Yes.

[Operator] So we need to set up 9 cells in Excel for you to put the values in.

[Operator] Do you want these arranged horizontally or vertically?

[Visitor] On any given day there will be anywhere from 52 to 390 values to choose from

[Visitor] out of those values, I want to know how many 9 value combinations there are that equal 60000

[Operator] I see.

[Operator] So you are going to key or copy in from another Excel sheet 52 to 390 values that you need the program to determine all the possible combinations of 9 of those values = 60,000?

[Visitor] Yes. and I need to see all of the different sets

[Operator] The 52 to 390 values may be greater than 13000, but never lower than 3500, right?

[Visitor] Yes, that is correct

[Operator] Once the 52 to 390 values are in the Excel sheet and the sum value of 60,000 is set you want a list returned of all the combinations of 9 values that = 60,000 correct?

[Visitor] Yes correct

[Visitor] I have done this manually by trial and error with 52 values. I was able to produce about 20 different 9 value combinations in an hour.

[Operator] So to make it easy for you to copy and paste in the 52 to 390 values do you want them arranged horizontally in a row in Excel or vertically in a column in Excel?

[Visitor] I need a faster way to get this data, and I want to make sure I know every possible combination

[Operator] That's what computers are for, Excel should be able to do this for you.

[Operator] So to make it easy for you to copy and paste in the 52 to 390 values do you want them arranged horizontally in a row in Excel or vertically in a column in Excel?

 

[Visitor] I would like it to be vertical

[Operator] Very good, I've got the information I need to see if we can figure out how to program this into Excel for you. Give me a little time to consider how we will do this and I will get back to you by email.

[Visitor] Even if I could get 50 -100 permutations I would be satisfied. I understand with so many different values the permutations could be in the thousands or possibly the millions. If I could at least have 50 I would be satified

[Operator] Got it on the 50 permutations.

[Operator] If you think of anything else that I need to take into consideration. Please email it to me. Thank you for taking time to explain your requirements and for answering all of my questions. This will really help me give you an accurate price and ensure that we program what you want.

[Visitor] Thank you for your time, this may or may not be an excel solution, however I appreciate your input

 

 

 

 

Any input would be definitely be appreciated!

 

Josh