Automate Excel with Python: A Practical Guide for Nonprogrammers

By John Wengler

AI can write the code. You still need to know what it does.

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 onesReplace daily copy/paste routines with reusable scriptsMerge and match data across sources with auditable resultsHandle dates, times, and the edge cases that break formulasExport from Python to Excel with column widths, number formats, and frozen panes intactBuild workflows that run daily without babysitting
AI can write the code. This book makes sure you're the one in control of it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1718504640
• ISBN13: 9781718504646
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: No Starch Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.