Learn Python Programming  /  Import & Export  /  Excel Files

Excel Files

pandas handles Excel files just as easily as CSV files, using the openpyxl engine behind the scenes (installed once with pip).

Installing the Required Package (One-Time Setup)

R Code
# run this once in your terminal, not inside a script
pip install openpyxl

Reading an Excel File

R Code
import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_excel("students.xlsx")
print(df)
Output
    name  score
0   Rafi     88
1  Meera     92

Reading a Specific Sheet

R Code
# list every sheet name first
xls = pd.ExcelFile("students.xlsx")
print(xls.sheet_names)

df = pd.read_excel("students.xlsx", sheet_name="Term2")
df2 = pd.read_excel("students.xlsx", sheet_name=1)  # or by position
Output
['Term1', 'Term2']

Writing an Excel File

R Code
df.to_excel("students_out.xlsx", index=False)

Advanced: Writing Multiple Sheets in One File

🚀 Advanced Example
ExcelWriter lets you write several DataFrames into the same Excel file, each as a separate named sheet.
R Code
with pd.ExcelWriter("report.xlsx") as writer:
    df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name="Term1", index=False)
    df2.to_excel(writer, sheet_name="Term2", index=False)

Key Points

  • pandas.read_excel() and .to_excel() need the openpyxl package installed (pip install openpyxl).
  • Use ExcelFile(...).sheet_names to see what sheets exist before choosing one with sheet_name=.
  • ExcelWriter lets you write multiple DataFrames as separate sheets in one output file.