How To Put A Python List Into Excel

In this tutorial, we will learn how to import a Python list into an Excel spreadsheet using the openpyxl library. The openpyxl library is widely used for working with Excel files as it provides a simple interface for reading and writing Excel files while maintaining the formatting.

Step 1: Install the openpyxl library

To use the openpyxl library, you need to install it first. You can install the library using the following command:
bash
pip install openpyxl

Step 2: Create a Python list

Now, let’s create a Python list that we want to put into an Excel file.

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data_list = [
    ['Name', 'Age', 'City'],
    ['John', 28, 'New York'],
    ['Jane', 24, 'San Francisco'],
    ['Alice', 22, 'Los Angeles'],
    ['Bob', 30, 'Chicago']
]

This list consists of a header row and four data rows.

Step 3: Create an Excel workbook and worksheet

After creating the list, you need to create a new Excel workbook and a worksheet using the openpyxl library.

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import openpyxl
 
workbook = openpyxl.Workbook()
worksheet = workbook.active

Step 4: Write the list to the worksheet

Now, you can write the data from the Python list to the Excel worksheet using a nested for loop. The first loop will iterate through each row, while the second loop will iterate through each cell of that row.

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for row_num, row_data in enumerate(data_list, start=1):
    for col_num, cell_data in enumerate(row_data, start=1):
        worksheet.cell(row=row_num, column=col_num).value = cell_data

Step 5: Save the workbook

Finally, after writing the data to the worksheet, you need to save the Excel workbook as an Excel file.

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workbook.save(filename="output.xlsx")

This will save the Excel file as “output.xlsx” in the current working directory.

Here is the complete code:

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import openpyxl
 
data_list = [
    ['Name', 'Age', 'City'],
    ['John', 28, 'New York'],
    ['Jane', 24, 'San Francisco'],
    ['Alice', 22, 'Los Angeles'],
    ['Bob', 30, 'Chicago']
]
 
workbook = openpyxl.Workbook()
worksheet = workbook.active
 
for row_num, row_data in enumerate(data_list, start=1):
    for col_num, cell_data in enumerate(row_data, start=1):
        worksheet.cell(row=row_num, column=col_num).value = cell_data
 
workbook.save(filename="output.xlsx")

Running this code will generate an Excel file with the following content:

Name    Age    City
John    28    New York
Jane    24    San Francisco
Alice   22    Los Angeles
Bob     30    Chicago

Conclusion

This tutorial demonstrated how to put a Python list into an Excel file using the openpyxl library. The process is simple: create a new Excel workbook, write the data from the Python list to the worksheet, and save it as an Excel file.

An openpyxl library is a powerful tool for working with Excel files in Python, providing a simple and efficient way to manipulate Excel data.