xlrd
Python Software Foundation
Free
The xlrd library is designed for developers looking to extract data from .xls files, which are a type of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This tool specifically focuses on reading data and the formatting details contained within these older Excel file formats. It's important to note that xlrd is limited to handling only .xls files moving forward. The library does not process features such as charts, macros, images, or any other embedded elements, including additional worksheets, VBA modules, or formulas, though it can retrieve the results of formula evaluations, comments, hyperlinks, and various filters such as auto, advanced, and pivot tables, as well as conditional formatting and data validation. Unfortunately, password-protected files cannot be accessed or read with this library. When using xlrd from the command line, users can view the first, second, and last rows of each sheet contained within the specified files. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that xlrd is distributed under the BSD license, providing certain freedoms for developers to utilize and modify the library as needed.