This document summarizes a presentation given by Felix Zumstein on cross-platform spreadsheet automation using Python and xlwings. The presentation covered the history and capabilities of xlwings across different platforms and versions over the past 8 years. It introduced the new capabilities of running xlwings remotely without a local Python installation and reading Excel files 5-20x faster than pandas. The presentation concluded with a giveaway and invitation to continue discussions over drinks at a nearby pub.

1. Cross-platform Spreadsheet
Automation with Python
Felix Zumstein, September 28, 2022
xlwings Meetup London

2. Agenda
1. Introduction 🙋
2. xlwings across time & platforms 🖥
3. The next big thing! 🚀
4. Giveaway 📚
5. Pub! 🍻
2

3. 1. Introduction 🙋

4. 4
About Me (1/3)
I created
xlwings in 2014

5. 5
About Me (2/3)
I wrote
a book in 2021

6. I am CEO at xltrail.com: Git for Excel
6
About Me (3/3)

7. 7
Let’s Connect!
@felixzumstein
Felix Zumstein
xlwings channel

8. 2. xlwings across
time & platforms 🖥

9. 9
xlwings v0.1.0: Windows only
• 2014
• A thin wrapper around pywin32

10. 10
xlwings v0.2.0: macOS support
• Just a few months after v0.1.0
• A thin wrapper around appscript

11. 11
And Linux…?!
From GitHub issues:

12. 12
8 years later…

13. 13
xlwings v0.26.0: Remote Interpreter
• It’s a web app with Excel as the frontend
• No local Python installation required!
• Works with
– Excel (Windows / macOS / Web)
– Google Sheets
• Yes, xlwings now runs on all of these:
– Linux / Docker / WSL
• Part of xlwings PRO, i.e., free for non-commercial use

14. 14
Docker Demo
• https://github.com/xlwings/xlwings-remote-simulation
• Basic idea:
@app.post("/hello")
def hello(data: dict = Body):
book = xw.Book(json=data)
sheet = book.sheets[0]
sheet["A1"].value = 'Hello xlwings!'
return book.json()

15. 3. The next big thing! 🚀

16. Two Types of Python Packages
16
Python xlsx
Python xlsx
Excel
Reading &
Writing
Files
Automating
Excel
pandas
OpenPyXL, XlsxWriter,
pyxlsb, xlrd, xlwt
xlwings
Source: Based on “Python for Excel” by Felix Zumstein (O’Reilly, 2021)

17. 17
Today, reading Excel files is slow
~70x

18. 18
xlwings v0.28.0 adds a file reader!
with xw.Book("AAPL.xlsx", mode="r") as book:
mysheet = book.sheets[0]
df = mysheet["B2:G7"].options("df").value

19. 19
Why is this exciting?
• 5x – 20x faster than pandas (single sheet)
depending on file format and Python version
• Supports named ranges (pandas doesn’t)
• All the xlwings magic is available
– Same intuitive API
– Converters & Options
– Dynamic ranges

20. 20
Some more details
• Supports xlsx/xlsm, xlsb, and xls
• Doesn’t require Excel and works on all platforms
• Is a Rust extension, based on the Calamine
project: https://github.com/tafia/calamine
• Part of xlwings PRO, i.e., free for non-
commercial use

21. 21
Demo
• https://github.com/xlwings/xlwings-
demo/tree/master/reader

22. 4. Giveaway 📚

23. 5. Pub 🍻

24. The Horse & Groom
24

25. Thank You