Excel is now enhanced with direct Python support, enabling users to employ the novel “PY” function to key in Python scripts straight into Excel cells. Microsoft collaborated with the renowned code repository service, Anaconda, to facilitate the execution of Python scripts in Excel devoid of any extra installations. This initiative aims to assist professionals in utilizing data within Excel for analytics and machine-learning tasks.

“Enter Python into an Excel cell, let the computations happen in Microsoft’s cloud realm, and behold the outcomes on your spreadsheet, including graphical representations,” shared Microsoft through an official blog post.

This declaration by Microsoft is crucial since a vast proportion of the world’s business data resides in Excel. Often, experts grapple with incorporating Python in Excel, citing the need for extensions or extra configurations. Historically, endeavors have been made to simplify Python usage in Excel. For instance, in 2014, Zoomer Analytics introduced Xlwings, a Python module under BSD license which linked Excel and Python, promoting direct interactions.

Later, in 2017, the creators of Anaconda, Continuum Analytics, unveiled Anaconda Fusion. This was a mechanism that paired the professional variant of Anaconda with versions of Microsoft Excel post-2016. This marriage permitted data enthusiasts to make their Python-based tasks accessible to Excel enthusiasts using Jupyter notebooks.

While there exist premium extensions like PyXLL to embed Python in Excel, the fresh built-in Python capability in Excel empowers users to directly employ the “PY” function to key in Python scripts in Excel cells. This will enhance tasks such as data refinement, anticipatory analytics, and machine learning, backed by Excel features like formulas, PivotTables, and graphical charts.

“By harnessing Excel’s inherent connectors along with Power Query, users can effortlessly pull external datasets into Python-powered Excel workflows,” the statement elaborated.

Businesses can now harness Python packages like scikit-learn and statsmodels to integrate prevalent machine learning, forecasting, and predictive analytics strategies such as regression and time sequence analysis, Microsoft emphasized.

This “Python in Excel” feature, currently up for public testing, is accessible for users on the Beta Channel in Windows. The initial release will cater to Excel for Windows, commencing with version 16.0.16818.20000, and will eventually be extended to other platforms.

For users keen on leveraging Python within Excel, enrolling in the Microsoft 365 Insider Program is a prerequisite.

“During its Preview phase, ‘Python in Excel’ will be encompassed in the Microsoft 365 package. Post this period, certain features might necessitate a premium subscription,” the firm highlighted.