Using the Xpress Optimizer Console
Every standard installation of the FICO Xpress Optimization Suite includes the Xpress Optimizer console application. You start it by typing the command optimizer at your command prompt, and you should see something like:
>optimizer FICO Xpress Solver 64bit v9.0.0 Oct 17 2022 (c) Copyright Fair Isaac Corporation 1983-2025. All rights reserved Optimizer v41.01.01 [/C:\xpressmp\bin\xprs.dll] [xpress]
For a full description of how to use the Xpress Optimizer console and the meaning of each control parameter, please refer to the Xpress Optimizer Reference Manual, which is also available online at
https://www.fico.com/fico-xpress-optimization/docs/latest
For the purpose of tuning solve performance for a problem, the only basic commands you will need to know are:
- readprob
- Read a problem stored in the MPS (or LP) file format.
- restore
- Restore a problem from a saved state file.
- lpoptimize
- Solve a purely continuous problem.
- mipoptimize
- Solve a mixed integer problem.
- tune
- Apply automatic tuning to the problem.
- dumpcontrols
- Display all the current non-default control parameter settings.
- setdefaultcontrol
- Reset a control parameter to its default setting.
Basic information about these commands and their arguments is available in the console by typing help followed by the name of the command.
To change a control in the console, you simply assign it a new value on the command line, such as
[xpress] PRESOLVE = 0
Note that control names are case insensitive. To see the current value of a control, just type the name of it:
[xpress] PRESOLVE 0
Alternatively, use the dumpcontrols command to see a list of all controls that you have set.
Some controls are bit-vector controls. These are special integer controls where each of the 32 bits making up the integer is typically used to turn a single feature on or off. The bits are numbered from 0 to 31 and the integer value corresponding to a bit k is calculated as 2k. For example, to set bits 1, 4 and 8 of a control, you would set it to the integer value: 21+24+28=2+16+256=274.
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