How to Read Specific Columns from Excel File using Pandas?

Pandas library allows you to read specific columns from an Excel file using its read_excel() method. This method takes the column name as an argument and returns a Pandas dataframe object containing the specified column. The columns parameter of the read_excel() method can take a list of strings containing the names of the columns to be read from the Excel file. The dataframe returned by this method can then be used to access the data in the specified columns.


You can use the following methods to read specific columns from an Excel file into a pandas DataFrame:

Method 1: Read Specific Columns

df = pd.read_excel('my_data.xlsx', usecols='A, C')

Method 2: Read a Range of Columns

df = pd.read_excel('my_data.xlsx', usecols='A:C') 

Method 3: Read Multiple Ranges of Columns

df = pd.read_excel('my_data.xlsx', usecols='A:C, F, G:J') 

The following examples show how to use each method in practice with the following Excel file called player_data.xlsx:

Example 1: Read Specific Columns

We can use the following code to import the data in columns A and C from the Excel file:

import pandas as pd

#import columns A and C from Excel file
df = pd.read_excel('player_data.xlsx', usecols='A, C')

#view DataFrame
print(df)

  team  rebounds
0    A         8
1    B        12
2    C         4
3    D         4
4    E         6
5    F         7

Notice that only the data from columns A and C in the Excel file were imported.

Example 2: Read a Range of Columns

We can use the following code to import the data in columns A through C from the Excel file:

import pandas as pd

#import columns A through C from Excel file
df = pd.read_excel('player_data.xlsx', usecols='A:C')

#view DataFrame
print(df)

  team  points  rebounds
0    A      24         8
1    B      20        12
2    C      15         4
3    D      19         4
4    E      32         6
5    F      13         7

Notice that only the data from columns A through C in the Excel file were imported.

Example 3: Read Multiple Ranges of Columns

We can use the following code to import the data in columns A through C and column D from the Excel file:

import pandas as pd

#import columns A through C from Excel file
df = pd.read_excel('player_data.xlsx', usecols='A:C, D')

#view DataFrame
print(df)

  team  points  rebounds  assists
0    A      24         8        5
1    B      20        12        3
2    C      15         4        7
3    D      19         4        8
4    E      32         6        8
5    F      13         7        9

Notice that the data from columns A through C and column D in the Excel file were imported.

Note: You can find the complete documentation for the pandas read_excel() function .

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