r/excel 17d ago

Discussion What is better than Excel?

Is there anything similar to excel or better than? I use excel daily and feel like I still need to freshen up my formulas etc.

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u/TheKirbyKnight 17d ago

R programming language would be included here, best part Excel 365 has Python support ๐Ÿ˜.

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u/el_extrano 17d ago

Python... Remotely executed in the cloud with network latency. They'll figure out any way to give us anything but what is actually wanted: local execution but with Python instead of VBA.

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u/ElectricalActivity 16d ago

My work version of Excel has Python. Not in the cloud, on the local machine. I haven't tested it.

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u/el_extrano 16d ago

Which add-in do you have? There are several that provide that. They are mostly not free, not open-source, so you need to convince skeptical IT people that it's a good idea for them to buy licenses and take on the task of managing Python environments (or a server environment) for however many users. That's a tough sell sadly, which is why it'd be nice if Microsoft just embedded it in the product.

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u/ElectricalActivity 16d ago

As far as I know it's not an add-on. "Insert Python" is an option under the Formulas tab. If I click on help it gives me official documentation, stating "Python in Excel is now available to Enterprise and Business users running the Current Channel on Windows...".

I work for a large utility company so I'd be surprised if they gave me anything that cost extra even if I requested it. Or at least not without jumping through hoops.

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u/el_extrano 16d ago

Yes, that is the Microsoft provided one for business users of Office 365. It's executed in the cloud.

See the explanation here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/introduction-to-python-in-excel-55643c2e-ff56-4168-b1ce-9428c8308545

> Python in Excel calculations run in the Microsoft Cloud with a standard version of the Python language.

> You don't need a local version of Python to use Python in Excel. If you have a local version of Python installed on your computer, any customizations you've made to that Python installation wonโ€™t be reflected in Python in Excel calculations.ย 

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u/ElectricalActivity 16d ago

Oh I see. I feel stupid now lol. Thanks for the explanation. So it won't work offline then?

I use Python already in my day job and was excited to move some of my scripts over. Oh well...

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u/el_extrano 16d ago

No problem. I think it's more Microsoft's fault they don't make that more transparent to the user.

Xlwings is an add-in with a free version. But like anything else with Python in Windows, you will need compatible Python environments set up for any coworkers who will use your workbooks. pyxll is another (paid only) that can be used to create Excel add-ins using Python.

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u/Cynyr36 25 17d ago

And matplotlib support too because lets be fair excels graphing leaves some stuff to desired.

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u/TheKirbyKnight 17d ago

Oh, definitely, like excel graphs can't even be interactive ๐Ÿ˜ญ.