Python as an Excel scripting language
Let us do scripting with Python! Yay! Not only as an alternative to VBA, but also as an alternative to field functions (=SUM(A1:A2))
Daniel
shared this idea
Wow.
Thank you to all those participated in our survey. What an amazing number of responses, many of them with very deep content. We’re processing the over ten thousand responses(!), and already appreciate the time so many of you took to answer with passion and experience.
Please know this survey is used to help influence various topics – both on Python as well as other related topics that the comments started to bleed into. Given the passion, I want to be clear this remains an area of exploration for us, without any specific timeline.
We’ll provide updates as we progress on this feature request.
Thanks!
Ashvini Sharma
Lead Program Manager
Excel
431 comments
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francisco contreras
commented
I export the outputs of my python scripts to an excel file to share the data with no technical people (management) , would be great to have a built in python support as you already have in Power BI.
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Anonymous
commented
I dream to see Python as excel scripting language but please, keep VBA as well, do not remove it.
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Alfred
commented
Its been like 4 years on this! Since then just look at the explotion of python as a go to language for Data Science and deeper analytics. No one is asking for a replacement to vba but moreso added functionality so that analyst can reduce the time it takes in changing over tools. Can you imagine if one was able to build prototypes in Excel using python then able to scale them up using pyspark or other tools? Well the answer is this is already happening its just wildly inefficient!
Most operational business instances can be solved using DAX but when applied and tied to bigger unstructured data instances I tend to vacate Excel for python and use some of its libraries to wrangle, transcribe, and communicate data findings. If I could do all of or sqy the 80 percent of effort spent wrangling data in Excel: holy smokes!!
Please re look at this thread and have a representative chime in to speak to any considerations being looked at.
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Michael Magistro
commented
Python is perhaps the fastest growing programming language topic on Stackoverflow. It's used for data science (a natural progression out of analysis in excel). Imagine how many people you'd attact to Excel if you had Python integration. Python is used for Jupyter Notebooks and Pandas (data science tools). This is all related. Integrating Python into Excel needs to happen!
https://insights.stackoverflow.com/trends?tags=python%2Cvba%2Cexcel%2Cc%23%2Cruby%2Cgo
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dietz
commented
I'm in a finance/investment environment setting where Excel VBA is de facto the universal language of all departments (of course Java, C# etc. as well in some other dep.) 20 year old vba's still do their job which is quite impressive.
I'm not sure whether a full integration of Python is necessary, although its a hype about it now. VBA Libraries that could use py classes etc. but also R, C#, F# or Julia (or simpler than XLL C++) other languages, would be fine, -
Ahmad Abbasi
commented
I really want a native programming environment for python embedded in Excel. I wanted to make a full fledged multi component distillation column in Excel, but having spent 1.5 months coding up functions in VBA I felt the need for making a class. But I found out that there is no constructor for instantiating an object. There were some clunky workarounds suggested online but looking at them I gave up on VBA to achieve the goal. Python would be way cooler with umpteen libraries and thriving ecosystem, which a 20 year old language like VBA does seem to lack.
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James Ball
commented
I'm in a business environment where we use Excel every day and that's the first tool businesspeople bust out to solve problems.
But none of our developers want to learn VBA. It's a career-limiting move.
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Ethan Mace
commented
So how many votes are necessary for integration?
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Anonymous
commented
OK. Truth be told, despite my voting to have Python scripting in Excel, I have since switched jobs, and while I use Python everyday, it's been years since I've opened Excel.
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Emre Poyraz
commented
hello,
I dont think Python should replace Excel functions. Excel functions are very mature and popular.
But how about having a Python based macro ability for excel? This could be an add-on. Python modules for Excel are not good enough to replace VBA.
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Peter F
commented
VBA is an ancient programming language, using it is no longer practical. IMHO if Microsoft wants to succeed, it needs to adopt to modern computing.
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Paul Mulherin
commented
Python integration first proposed: 2015.
Last update from Microsoft Devs: 03/2018.TBH I think we'll see the first manned mission to Mars before we see Microsoft implement Python support for Excel... :)
...or they'll skip Python support entirely in favour of something like Julia:
https://juliacomputing.com/blog/2017/10/24/julia-in-xl-intro.html -
James
commented
I would love to see some proper Python scripting supported in Excel.
Any updates on this please?
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SUNNY VERMA
commented
I dont want to imagine Excel without VBA.
VBA need to update but with python its not sounds good -
Ryan
commented
I can’t tell you how strongly I support this idea! Please make this a reality! 😍
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Ffffff
commented
Microsoft does not give a **** about what any of you think. They will never add this feature. It’s been like three years or more since this was announced as an idea.
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ad
commented
python together with the already known vba excel object model is my wet dream.
Or, just improve VBA and the editor a little bit. -
CPM
commented
Guys,
go to https://youtu.be/f6VqQsfO6E4 and wait no longer!
I am so stoked to go to work in monday! -
Kent Maxwell
commented
My recommendation is provided Python support in Power Query for Excel, just like it's being now offered in Power Query in Power BI. I do not understand why Power Query is not the same for both products. Why does Power BI get all the new love?
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Paul Mulherin
commented
PyXLL looks very nice Tony!
Sadly only half of our team use Office for Windows and the rest are running Office for Mac OSX so I'm still waiting for an official, Microsoft-supported Python solution that covers *both* versions of Excel... :-/
