Automate Excel with Python: From manual grind to one-click workflow

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Summary

This book teaches Python users how to automate Excel workflows using pandas, from reading messy spreadsheets to generating reports and emailing results, all with a single script.

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Cached at: 07/08/26, 08:18 AM

# Automate Excel with Python Source: [https://nostarch.com/automate-excel-with-python](https://nostarch.com/automate-excel-with-python) [![Automate Excel with Python](https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/uc_product/public/field/image_cache/automate-excel-with-python_frontcover.jpg?itok=qF1JhuYg)](https://nostarch.com/sites/default/files/styles/uc_product_full/public/field/image_cache/automate-excel-with-python_frontcover.jpg?itok=S4d2_2hp) From Manual Grind to One\-Click Workflow - [Contents](https://nostarch.com/automate-excel-with-python#content) [Download Chapter 3: Creating and Manipulating Dataframes and Lists](https://nostarch.com/download/samples/automate-excel-with-python_chapter-3.pdf) You’re already good at Excel\. But you’re tired of the copy/paste, the helper columns, and the brittle formulas that break when someone adds a row\. You want automation, and whether you write the code yourself or let AI generate it, you need to understand what’s actually running your business processes\. *Automate Excel with Python*teaches you to build real workflows, step\-by\-step\. You’ll read messy workbooks into pandas dataframes, filter and reshape data without helper columns, merge sources without silent VLOOKUP failures, and export polished results with formatting intact\. A capstone chapter ties it together: import a multi\-tab workbook, generate exception reports, and email the results—all from one script you run with a single click\. You’ll learn how to: - Read existing Excel files you already use into Python, even the messy ones - Replace daily copy/paste routines with reusable scripts - Merge and match data across sources with auditable results - Handle dates, times, and the edge cases that break formulas - Export from Python to Excel with column widths, number formats, and frozen panes intact - Build workflows that run daily without babysitting AI can write the code\. This book makes sure you’re the one in control of it\. Author Bio **John Wengler**taught himself Python to automate a spreadsheet process and solve a “million\-dollar problem” at work\. He is the author of*Managing Energy Risk*and has taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology and Tulane University\. Table of contents Introduction **Part I: From Spreadsheets to Dataframes** Chapter 1: Getting Started with Python Chapter 2: Displaying Data and Understanding Data Types Chapter 3: Creating and Manipulating Dataframes and Lists Chapter 4: Adding, Modifying, and Calculating Column Data Chapter 5: Accessing and Transforming Individual Cell Values Chapter 6: Filtering and Displaying Dataframes **Part II: Tools to Replicate Excel Functionality** Chapter 7: Counting and Summing Values Chapter 8: Combining Dataframes Chapter 9: Formatting and Calculating Dates and Times **Part III: Workflow Techniques** Chapter 10: Reading Excel Files into Dataframes Chapter 11: Saving Dataframes to Excel Chapter 12: There and Back Again: An Excel–Python–Excel Workflow Appendix A: Working with Folders, Files, and Pathnames Appendix B: Cleaning Up a Messy Spreadsheet Appendix C: The Ducks Module Python Quick Reference Index [**View the Copyright page**](https://nostarch.com/download/resources/automate-excel-with-python_copyright.pdf) **[**View the detailed Table of Contents**](https://nostarch.com/download/resources/automate-excel-with-python_TOC.pdf) **[**View the Index**](https://nostarch.com/download/resources/automate-excel-with-python_index.pdf)****

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