How to Combine Excel Files Using Python

Introduction

Combining multiple Excel files into a single file is a common task that can greatly simplify your data analysis process. Whether you're dealing with sales data, customer information, or financial records, having all your data in one place is immensely beneficial. In this post, we will explore a straightforward method to accomplish this task using Python, a powerful and versatile programming language favored for data manipulation and analysis.  Python is one of the most popular programming languages today, especially in data science, machine learning, and automation. Its simplicity and readability make it a great choice for handling Excel files, with several libraries designed specifically for this purpose. In this tutorial, we will use pandas, a powerful data manipulation library, and openpyxl, which is ideal for reading and writing Excel files.

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have Python installed on your system. If it’s not installed, you can download it from the official Python website.

Step 1: Install Libraries

We need to install the following libraries:

1. pandas: For data manipulation and analysis.
2. openpyxl : For handling Excel files.

You can install these packages using pip:

pip install pandas openpyxl

Start by importing the libraries we need.

import os
import pandas as pd

Step 2: Locate Your Excel Files

Ensure all Excel files you want to combine are in the same directory. For this example, let's assume they are in a folder named excel_files.

Step 3: Read and Combine the Excel Files

We'll use pandas to read each Excel file into a DataFrame and then concatenate them into a single DataFrame.

def combine_excel_files(folder_path):
    # List to hold the data from each Excel file
    frames = []

    # Loop through all the Excel files in the folder
    for filename in os.listdir(folder_path):
        if filename.endswith('.xlsx'):
            # Construct full file path
            file_path = os.path.join(folder_path, filename)
            # Read the Excel file
            df = pd.read_excel(file_path, engine='openpyxl')
            # Append the DataFrame to the list
            frames.append(df)

    # Concatenate all the DataFrames in the list
    combined_df = pd.concat(frames, ignore_index=True)
    return combined_df

# Example usage
folder_path = 'path_to_your_excel_files_folder'
combined_excel = combine_excel_files(folder_path)

Step 4: Export the Combined DataFrame to a New Excel File

Finally, export the combined DataFrame to a new Excel file.

combined_excel.to_excel('combined_file.xlsx', index=False, engine='openpyxl')

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully combined multiple Excel files into one using Python. This script can be adapted and expanded based on your specific needs, such as adding specific data filters or handling different file formats.

Python provides a robust platform for working with data, and by automating the process of combining Excel files, you can save time and reduce errors in your data analysis tasks.

Key Takeaways

• installing python libraries
• reading and writing excel files using python
• combining many excel files into one file