Reading/parsing Excel (xls) files with Python

Question

What is the best way to read Excel (XLS) files with Python (not CSV files). Is there a built-in package which is supported by default in Python to do this task?

Accepted Answer

I highly recommend xlrd for reading `.xls` files. But there are some limitations(refer to xlrd github page):

Warning

This library will no longer read anything other than .xls files. For alternatives that read newer file formats, please see http://www.python-excel.org/.

The following are also not supported but will safely and reliably be ignored:

```
- Charts, Macros, Pictures, any other embedded object, including embedded worksheets.
- VBA modules
- Formulas, but results of formula calculations are extracted.
- Comments
- Hyperlinks
- Autofilters, advanced filters, pivot tables, conditional formatting, data validation
```

Password-protected files are not supported and cannot be read by this library.

voyager mentioned the use of COM automation. Having done this myself a few years ago, be warned that doing this is a real PITA. The number of caveats is huge and the documentation is lacking and annoying. I ran into many weird bugs and gotchas, some of which took many hours to figure out.

UPDATE:

For newer `.xlsx` files, the recommended library for reading and writing appears to be openpyxl (thanks, Ikar Pohorský).

Reading/parsing Excel (xls) files with Python

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