How to Use Python in Excel | Learn More: Microsoft Excel Quiz For Beginners

Excel, a program that is part of Microsoft Office, finds extensive application in everyday office tasks, especially those that involve data management, report generation, financial analysis, and data visualization. When paired with Python, a versatile high-level programming language, the output becomes more dynamic, efficient, and powerful. But how do you incorporate Python in Excel? This blog post will walk you through the process.

What is Python?

Python is an open-source, easy-to-learn scripting language known for its simplicity and straightforward syntax. It’s versatile, making it a favorite choice for automating tasks, machine learning, software development, and web development. Additionally, Python has extensive libraries, like Pandas, Numpy, and Matplotlib, which come in handy for data analysis and visualization.

What is Excel?

Excel is a popular spreadsheet software in the Microsoft Office suite. More than just a grid of cells, Excel provides an array of tools for sorting, manipulating, and analyzing data. It helps carry out tasks ranging from simple calculations to complex analysis.

Combining the Power of Python and Excel (Python in Excel)

Python’s capacities substantially extend the capabilities of Excel, allowing more complex calculations and a seamless integration with the versatility of a powerful programming language. This brings the user into the realm of more enhanced analytics, automation, and data scaling.

The Python Packages for Excel

Before diving into how Python can be used with Excel, it’s good to know about the Python packages specifically built for this:

1. xlrd and xlwt: These read and write data and formats to Excel, although they don’t support the .xlsx file format.
2. openpyxl: This works with .xlsx files and has functions to read, write, and modify Excel files.
3. pandas: This deals with data structures and analysis and can be used in tandem with Excel.
4. pyexcel: This is a wrapper library that deals with excel files using a one-API-does-it-all built-in approach.

Step-by-step Guide to Using Python in Excel

Setting up Python in Excel

Python scripts can be run directly in Excel using Excel’s inbuilt Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language. To do this, you’ll first need to install the xlwings add-in for Excel.

1. First, open your Command Prompt and install xlwings by typing pip install xlwings.
2. Next, install the add-in for Excel by typing xlwings addin install in the command prompt.

Writing Python Scripts in Excel

Once installed, you have Python embedded in Excel!

1. Go to the Developer tab and click on ‘xlwings’.
2. You’ll see a new window pop up on your worksheet, which is your Python editor.
3. Now you can start writing your Python scripts and run them directly on your Excel workbook by simply pressing Alt + F8, and running ‘RunPython’ macro and voila, you’ve executed your Python script in Excel!

Leveraging Python for Data Analysis

One of Python’s significant advantages is its ability to handle large volumes of data. The Pandas library in Python helps in importing and exporting data in various formats, including Excel files.

Example of how to use Pandas in Python:

Import data from Excel file:

import pandas as pddata = pd.read_excel (r'Path where the Excel file is stored\File name.xlsx')

This beautiful integration brings the best of both worlds, making Excel’s user-friendly interface and the computational and analytical power of Python a force to be reckoned with.

So, if you are an Excel user, learning Python and how to incorporate Python into Excel will significantly boost your productivity and analytics capabilities. As you continue to explore Python’s unending potential, you’ll be surprised at how much faster and efficient your Excel tasks become!

Frequently asked questions about Python in Excel: (FAQ)

1. Can you use Python in Excel?

Yes, you can use Python in Excel. Tools such as xlwings, openpyxl, pandas, pyexcel, and others have been developed to allow Python scripts to read, write, and manipulate data in Excel workbooks.

2. How do you run a Python script in Excel?

You can use the xlwings Excel add-in to run Python scripts. First, install the add-in using the Python command prompt. Then, under the Developer tab in Excel, click on ‘xlwings’ and you can start writing and running your Python scripts in the window.

3. What is xlwings?

xlwings is an open-source Python library that allows easy integration of Python with Microsoft Excel. It can connect to existing spreadsheets, write formulas, read values, and much more.

4. How do I call Excel macros from Python?

You can use the xlwings library function run_macro(). Here is a sample code:

import xlwings as xwapp = xw.App()wb = app.books.open('yourfilename.xlsm')app.run('yourmacro')wb.close()app.quit()

Replace ‘yourfilename.xlsm’ with the path to your Excel file and ‘yourmacro’ with the name of your macro.

5. How do I write data from Python to Excel?

You can use pandas and openpyxl to write data from Python to Excel. Here is an example:

import pandas as pddataframe.to_excel(r'Path to save the Excel file\File name.xlsx', sheet_name='Your sheet name')

Replace the path, filename, and sheet name with the desired values.

6. How can I read Excel files in Python?

You can use pandas function read_excel to read an Excel file:

import pandas as pddataframe = pd.read_excel(r'Path where the Excel file is stored\File name.xlsx')

7. Can Python replace VBA in Excel?

Python can be used along with VBA but it doesn’t naturally integrate with MS Excel as VBA does. Python can introduce more functions and routines into Excel than VBA, but it’s best to use both together depending on your needs.

8. Can Python be used for Excel modeling?

Python can handle and manipulate large amounts of data more efficiently than Excel alone. However, Excel is generally better for actual financial modeling because it allows you to easily build, adjust, and audit models.

9. How do I write a Python script in Excel cell?

To write Python code inside an Excel cell, you can use xlwings UDFs (User Defined Functions). Once set up, you can call Python functions directly from Excel cells.

10. Can Python handle large Excel files?

Yes, Python’s pandas library can handle larger datasets more efficiently than Excel. It can read and write data to Excel, even with millions of rows, provided you have enough memory resources available.