AnswerCell Documentation

Overview

This Excel Add-In integrates OpenAI's API with Microsoft Excel, allowing users to input questions in a specified column and automatically retrieve AI-generated answers. This tool uses the powerful capabilities of OpenAI to generate responses dynamically, making it easy to solve various business problems and analyze large datasets in Excel.

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Key Features

• Dynamic Responses: Input a question in a specified column, and get AI-generated responses in the adjacent output column.
• Customizable Columns: You can change the column names (e.g., from A to C or any other column) to suit your needs.
• First-Time Setup: The tool prompts for an OpenAI API key when it's run for the first time, making it easy to configure.

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Pre-requisites

Before using the Excel Add-In, you need to ensure that the following are set up on your computer:

1. Python: Python 3.9 or later should be installed on your system. You can download Python from python.org.

2. Excel: You need a working version of Microsoft Excel.

3. OpenAI API Key: You will need an OpenAI API key, which you can get from OpenAI.

4. xlwings Add-In: The xlwings add-in should be installed in Excel to connect Excel with Python.

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Installation Instructions

Step 1: Install Python and Dependencies

1. Install Python:

   • Go to python.org/downloads and download the latest version of Python.
   • During installation, ensure to check the option to Add Python to PATH.

2. Install Required Packages:

   • Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux).
   • Run the following commands to install the required Python packages:

     pip install xlwings openai

Step 2: Install the xlwings Add-In for Excel

1. Install the xlwings Add-In:

   • Open a command prompt or terminal and run the following command to install the xlwings add-in:

     xlwings addin install

2. Verify the Add-In Installation:

   • Open Excel.
   • Go to the "Add-ins" tab. You should see xlwings there.

Step 3: Setup the Project Files

1. Configure the Python Environment:

   • Make sure that the xlwings.conf file is properly configured:
     • The PYTHONPATH should point to the project folder.
     • The INTERPRETER should point to your Python executable (usually python.exe on Windows or /usr/bin/python3 on Mac/Linux).

   Example of xlwings.conf:

   [xlwings]
   PYTHONPATH = path/to/your/project
   INTERPRETER = path/to/python.exe
   

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How to Use the Add-In

Step 1: First-Time Setup

1. Run the Python Script:
   • To set up the OpenAI API key, run the main.py script in the project folder.
   • Open the command prompt or terminal and run:

     python main.py

   • The script will prompt you to enter your OpenAI API key. Input the API key you got from OpenAI.
   • The API key will be saved for future use.

Step 2: Using the Add-In in Excel

1. Open Excel:

   • Open a new or existing Excel workbook.

2. Prepare Your Questions:

   • In the worksheet, enter your questions in a column (e.g., column A). For example:

     A1: What is the color of the sky?
     A2: What is the capital of France?
     A3: What is the largest animal?
     

3. Add a Button to Trigger Python Function:

   • In Excel, go to the "Developer" tab. If the Developer tab is not visible, enable it by going to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
   • Click Insert under the Developer tab and choose Button.
   • Draw a button on the sheet and assign the ProcessData macro to it.

4. Assign Macro to Button:

   • The macro will look like this in the VBA editor:

     Sub ProcessData()
         RunPython "import processor; processor.process_excel_data('A', 'B')"
     End Sub

   • This will process questions from column A and return answers in column B.

5. Click the Button to Process Data:

   • After setting up the button, click it to run the Python function.
   • The answers generated by OpenAI will appear in the output column (e.g., column B).

Step 3: Adjusting Columns

• You can change the input and output columns by simply modifying the macro code in VBA or providing the new column letters when prompted.

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Troubleshooting

API Key Not Set

• If you try to use the add-in and get an error like "API key not found," it means the API key has not been set up.
  • To fix this, run the main.py script again and input the OpenAI API key when prompted.

No Responses in Output

• If no answers appear in the output column:
  • Ensure that the input column has questions.
  • Check that the OpenAI API key is correct.
  • Verify that the Python environment is correctly configured.

Error While Running Python

• If you encounter errors related to Python, ensure the Python executable and project folder are correctly specified in the xlwings.conf file.

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Maintenance

1. Updating the OpenAI API Key:

   • If you need to update the OpenAI API key, simply run the main.py script again and input the new API key.

2. Adding More Columns:

   • If you want to process more columns, update the process_excel_data function in the processor.py file to handle additional columns.

3. Scaling for Larger Datasets:

   • The solution is designed for smaller datasets. For large-scale processing, you may need to modify the script to handle batch processing or optimize the API calls.

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For Non-Programmers: How to Use

• The Excel add-in has been designed to be user-friendly.
• For first-time use, just run the main.py script to set up the OpenAI API key.
• Once set up, non-programmers can simply input questions in Excel, click a button, and see the AI-generated responses without needing to interact with the Python code.