NeuroSolutions for Excel Product Summary

For the novice, NeuroSolutions for Excel provides:

Automated Neural Network Topology Search

NeuroSolutions for Excel™ has made it easier than ever to find the solution to your specific problem! With the Express Builder you can quickly and easily setup a few or every variation of neural networks available in NeuroSolutions - plus your own custom networks!

Express Builder Default Panel

Express Builder Advanced Panel

Upon completion, all of the statistics of the training and testing simulations are compiled in a easy-to-read worksheet with the "best" result highlighted for easy retrieval. Inlcuded in the report is a Summary of All Networks, Performance Metrics (e.g. MSE, Min. Abs. Error, etc.) and Confusion Matrices for classification problems.

Express Builder Report

NeuroSolutions for Excel™ is organized into eight modules (click to expand each module), each of which can be extended with user-defined custom batches written in Visual Basic for Applications.

Express Builder Module

Preprocess Data Module

Analyze Data Module

The Analyze Data module provides the user with useful information about their data. The operations available in this module can be used during the preprocessing stage of neural network design or to analyze the network output. The following Analyze Data operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel™:

• Histogram
• Time Series Plot
• X-Y Scatter Plot
• Correlation
• Summary Statistics
• Trend Accuracy

Tag Data Module

The Tag Data module provides a simple graphical method for tagging portions of your data as Training Input, Training Desired, Cross Validation Input, Cross Validation Desired, Testing Input, Testing Desired, and Production Input. This module also provides powerful auto-tag methods. The following Tag Data operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel™

• Tag Selected Column(s) As Input, Desired or Symbol
• Tag Selected Row(s) As Training, Cross Validation, Testing or Production
• Clear Selected Tags
• Tag Rows By Percentages
• Select Cross-section

Create/Open Network Module

The Create/Open Network module allows the user to create a NeuroSolutions breadboard (neural network) from scratch through the use of the NeuralBuilder utility or by opening an existing NeuroSolutions breadboard. The following Create/Open Network operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel™

• Open, Close or Save Breadboard
• New Classification Network
• New Function Approximation Network
• New Custom Network
• Load Best Weights

Create Data Files Module

The Create Data Files module creates tab-delimited ASCII files for each tagged cross-section so that NeuroSolutions can read the data. This module is not used very often since the files are created automatically whenever the neural network is trained or tested. The following Create Data Files operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel:

• Create All Data Files
• Create Files for one Data Set (Training, Cross Validation, Testing or Production)
• View Data Files
• Delete All Data Files

Train Network Module

The Train Network module gives the user the ability to train a network once, multiple times with different random initial conditions, or multiple times while varying one or more network parameters. This powerful module permits the user to easily find the optimum network for a particular problem. The following Train Network operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel™:

• Train
  Trains the active NeuroSolutions breadboard one time and creates a report of the results.
• Train N Times
  Trains the active NeuroSolutions breadboard N times with different random initial conditions and creates report of the results.
• Leave N Out Training
  Trains the network multiple times, each time omitting a different subset of the data and using that subset for testing. The outputs from each tested subset are combined into one testing report and the model is trained one additional time using all of the data.
• Vary a Parameter
  Trains the active NeuroSolutions breadboard N times for each value of a network parameter as the parameter is varied from a user defined starting value by a user defined increment for a user defined number of variations.
• Train Genetic
  Trains the active NeuroSolutions breadboard while genetically optimizing the choice of inputs and parameter values to achieve the best model.

Test Network Module

The Test Network module can be used to test a network after training has been completed. In testing the network, various performance measures are computed. This module also allows you to perform sensitivity analysis on the network. The following Test Network operations are built into NeuroSolutions for Excel™:

• Test
  Tests the active NeuroSolutions breadboard on the chosen data set and creates a report of the results.
• Sensitivity About the Mean
  Performs sensitivity analysis on the chosen data set. This procedure allows you to determine the effect each of the inputs has on the network output.

Custom Batches

The user can also create his/her own custom subroutines (batches) for any of the right modules by calling built-in NeuroSolutions functions and/or writing Visual Basic code. These custom batches can then be run from the NeuroSolutions for Excel™ menu from within Microsoft Excel™.

For example, suppose that you wanted to create a batch that will train your data using four different type of neural network architectures and then return the results of the architecture that performed the best. NeuroSolutions for Excel will allow you to write a custom VB subroutine to perform these steps automatically and then add that batch as an option within the Train Network Module.

Supported Microsoft Office Versions

Office 97 Office 2000 Office 2002 Office 2003

Office 2005 Office 2007 Office 2010