xlrd: A Python Library for Reading Legacy Excel .xls Files

Summary

xlrd is a Python library designed for reading data and formatting information from older Microsoft Excel .xls files. It provides a robust solution for interacting with legacy spreadsheet data, offering functionalities to access worksheets, rows, and cell values. While powerful for its specific niche, users are encouraged to consider openpyxl for newer .xlsx formats.

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Introduction

xlrd is a well-established Python library dedicated to reading data and formatting information from historical Microsoft Excel .xls files. With over 2200 stars and 400 forks on GitHub, it has been a go-to tool for developers needing to process legacy Excel spreadsheets. It provides a straightforward API to access workbook, sheet, row, and cell data, making it easy to extract information from these older file formats.

Installation

Getting started with xlrd is simple using pip:

pip install xlrd

Examples

Here's a quick example demonstrating how to open an .xls file and read its contents:

import xlrd
book = xlrd.open_workbook("myfile.xls")
print("The number of worksheets is {0}".format(book.nsheets))
print("Worksheet name(s): {0}".format(book.sheet_names()))
sh = book.sheet_by_index(0)
print("{0} {1} {2}".format(sh.name, sh.nrows, sh.ncols))
print("Cell D30 is {0}".format(sh.cell_value(rowx=29, colx=3)))
for rx in range(sh.nrows):
    print(sh.row(rx))

Why Use xlrd?

xlrd is specifically designed for handling the .xls file format, which is crucial for projects dealing with older data archives or systems that still generate these legacy files. It efficiently extracts data, including results of formula calculations, though it does not process the formulas themselves.

Important Considerations:

xlrd only supports .xls files. It will not read .xlsx or other newer Excel formats.
For modern Excel files (.xlsx), the project explicitly recommends using alternatives like openpyxl.
Many advanced Excel features, such as charts, macros, embedded objects, VBA modules, comments, and password-protected files, are not supported and will be ignored or prevent reading.

If your workflow strictly involves legacy .xls files and you need a reliable Python solution for data extraction, xlrd remains a valuable tool.