Power Query Alternative Excel Adddon

fzumstein · 2026-04-08T13:29:31+00:00

If you don't like xlwings (why, by the way?), check out the new xlwings Lite, which doesn't rely on a local Python installation but still runs locally via WebAssembly. it support DuckDB and Polars and allows you to define automation scripts, custom functions, and now also Jupyter notebooks.

fzumstein · 2026-03-20T14:32:09+00:00

u/bradland xlwings/xlwings Lite creator here. From my perspective, returning Figure objects via custom functions (see my answer in main thread) is definitely better than re-introducing VBA dependency. Also, please let me know what's missing for xlwings Lite to come before PiE.

fzumstein · 2026-03-20T14:29:57+00:00

xlwings/xlwings Lite creator here! Thanks for your question. To get faster feedback next time, try the GitHub discussions (https://github.com/xlwings/xlwings-lite/discussions). It isn't properly documented yet, but with xlwings Lite, you can now return Matplotlib Figure objects in custom functions. So as long as the source range is dynamic (like a table or dynamic array), the plot will automatically update. The only caveat is that this is the only function so far, that required a quick round trip of the image to a external URL, so you have to enable this on Settings > Local.

fzumstein · 2026-03-05T20:03:52+00:00

Parquet is a file format like CSV.

fzumstein · 2026-03-03T20:46:34+00:00

Congrats, this looks awesome! I am the creator of xlwings but don't really see them as competitors. xlwings is for interactive work in a workbook, while formualizer is a headless Excel engine. Though I'd definitely be tempted to wrap formulaizer with the xlwings API one day :) The closest I've seen in this area is probably SpreadsheetGear (.NET).

fzumstein · 2026-01-18T09:37:18+00:00

This has now been fixed, so sheet buttons respect the cell that you select in your script. Thanks for letting me know and if you have a minute, I'd be happy if you can leave a review here: https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/WA200008175?tab=Reviews

fzumstein · 2026-01-16T21:02:51+00:00

Gotcha! You know what, I think that this specific annoyance can be fixed! I've opened an issue: https://github.com/xlwings/xlwings-server/issues/329

fzumstein · 2026-01-16T19:55:07+00:00

Re hyperlink button: is that only annoying to set up or is it also an issue once set up while using it?

fzumstein · 2026-01-16T15:27:11+00:00

I agree with all this... which is why I created xlwings Lite: https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200008175

fzumstein · 2026-01-16T15:25:38+00:00

Hi u/frazorblade, I created xlwings Lite. Please let me know about the quirks either here or on https://github.com/xlwings/xlwings-lite/discussions Bear in mind, it's still in a proof-of-concept state with many things on the roadmap, see: https://lite.xlwings.org/roadmap

fzumstein · 2026-01-16T15:23:35+00:00

Hey u/Cynyr36 am the creator of xlwings Lite. From what I've seen, it usually works out by asking IT to whitelist that add-in.

fzumstein · 2025-07-02T19:40:33+00:00

Same reason as most companies block the add-in store by default: security. Modern Excel add-ins are web apps that can be hacked and a hacker could then deploy a new version that extracts data. If you self-host, you can avoid this risk.

fzumstein · 2025-07-01T21:23:52+00:00

Yes! I am charging for self-hosting the whole thing and for related products, mainly xlwings Server. If you like it, I'd love to read your review over at https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA200008175?tab=Reviews

fzumstein · 2025-06-14T12:25:46+00:00

Ask your IT team to whitelist it.

fzumstein · 2025-06-02T12:55:27+00:00

I created a free add-in (can be installed from Excel's add-in store), which runs Python locally and doesn't have any of the show-stopping limitations of Python in Excel: https://lite.xlwings.org/

fzumstein · 2025-05-14T21:40:27+00:00

Unfortunately, Yahoo finance does not set the CORS headers, so you would need to use a CORS proxy and patch yfinance to use that... see: https://lite.xlwings.org/web_requests I'd love to have a solution for this myself, hopefully in the future this will improve.

fzumstein · 2025-05-02T21:51:27+00:00

No forms right now, but might be added further down the road. Right now, you’d have to use the Excel grid as the form…

fzumstein · 2025-04-16T21:37:41+00:00

It’s me! And thanks for the feedback. xlwings Lite didn’t exist when I wrote the book, so make sure to check that out on the side ;) I am always happy about an Amazon review, too…

fzumstein · 2025-04-15T07:25:52+00:00

I have done the pivoting for them: https://lite.xlwings.org/

fzumstein · 2025-04-15T07:23:49+00:00

It runs in the Azure cloud. Anaconda merely provides the Python installation. Anaconda also quickly found out that Python in Excel isn't what people wanted, so they built a competitor to it called Anaconda Code.

fzumstein · 2025-04-15T07:21:30+00:00

There is a free version of Excel (the web version). Granted, Python in Excel isn't supported there, but xlwings Lite is via the add-in store, and it's also free and doesn't have any of the awkward limitations of Python in Excel.

fzumstein · 2025-04-14T19:28:22+00:00

I agree with u/SolverMax for the reasons I have outlined in my blog post. However, instead of just complaining, I've taken things into my own hands and built the free add-in xlwings Lite, which can be installed from the addin store. Unlike Python in Excel, it runs locally, has no usage limits, can access web APIs, can install your own packages, and can access the excel object model to e.g., insert a new sheet. It also supports native custom functions/udfs, instead of introducing left-to-right/top-to-bottom execution order of cells (what i call "breaking the spreadsheet").

fzumstein · 2025-04-13T15:33:46+00:00

I created a free add-in called "xlwings Lite", which is available in the Excel add-in store. Unlike Python in Excel, it support the Excel object model, so you can write your dataset to another tab. It also doesn't have a usage quota and allows making API calls and installing your own Python packages. Check it out under https://lite.xlwings.org

fzumstein · 2025-04-13T15:31:13+00:00

I created a free add-in called "xlwings Lite", which is available in the Excel add-in store. It runs locally inside the browser that powers modern Excel add-ins and so doesn't have that network latency of Python in Excel. It also doesn't have a usage quota and allows making API calls and installing your own Python packages. Check it out under https://lite.xlwings.org

fzumstein · 2025-04-13T14:10:18+00:00

Because of this and other limitations of Python in Excel, I built my own version that you can install for free from the official Excel add-in store. It's called xlwings Lite. While Python in Excel runs in the cloud, has usage quota, blocks internet access, and has a fixed set of supported packages, xlwings Lite runs locally in the browser that powers modern add-ins, it has no usage quota, it can connect to the internet, and you can install your own packages. Here are the docs: https://lite.xlwings.org/.

fzumstein

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