In September 2023, Microsoft revealed it was launching a Python Editor add-in program for its Excel spreadsheet app in Windows. The optional and experimental add-in came from its Excel Labs division. Today, members of the Microsoft 365 Insider program in the Beta channel can try out a new built-in Python Editor included in the Excel app itself.
In a blog post, Microsoft says it has also made some changes and improvements to the Python Editor in Excel as well including a new user interface that is still "faithful to the original design". It is now visible in the app by clicking on the Formulas tab. In the section of the tab where you see the Insert Python icon, there should also be a new Editor icon. You can click on it to launch the Python Editor.
Microsoft added:
From the Python Editor, you can see a list of all the Python cells in your spreadsheet. Each cell is treated like that of a code cell in a Jupyter notebook. Within the Python Editor pane, you can edit the cells and run them. The output of the Python cell can be displayed natively in your Excel spreadsheet, whether it is plain text, numeric, or even a visualization or DataFrame.
The new Python Editor feature in Excel also has features like Intellisense, colorization, and function to help people code Python in Excel.
While the Microsoft 365 Insider Beta users can access the Python Editor in Excel, it will continue to be available as an add-in via Excel Labs for people who are not in the Insider program. There"s no word on when the Python Editor feature in Excel will become generally available for all Windows users.
Meanwhile, the actual support for using Python in Excel started rolling out in June for Enterprise, Business, Education, and Family and Personal users that use the Windows Current Channel (Preview) builds under Version 2406 (Build 17726.20016).