Mastering Python Scripting for System Administrators

Reading specific columns in an Excel file

When we use the pandas module to read an Excel file using the read_excel method, we can also read specific columns in that file. For reading specific columns, we need to use the usecols parameter in the read_excel method.

Now, let’s look at an example to read specific columns in an Excel file. Create a script called rd_excel_pandas1.py and write the following content in it:

import pandas as pdexcel_file = 'sample.xlsx'cols = [1, 2, 3]df = pd.read_excel(excel_file , sheet_names='sheet1', usecols=cols)print(df.head())

Run the preceding script and you will get the following output:

student@ubuntu:~/test$ python3 rd_excel_pandas1.py

Following is the output:

    Region      Rep    Item0  Central    Smith    Desk1 Central ...