How to use Application.Build in the xlwings API way

The Application.Build property in Excel’s object model represents the build number of the Excel application. This read-only property returns a Long value that corresponds to the specific compilation version of Excel. It is particularly useful for developers who need to implement version-specific logic or ensure compatibility across different builds of Excel, as it provides a more granular identifier than the major version number alone.

In xlwings, the Application object is accessed via the app object when you have an instance of an Excel application. The Build property can be retrieved directly as an attribute. The syntax is straightforward: after establishing a connection to Excel, you simply call .build on the app object. There are no parameters required for this property.

Syntax:

app.build

This returns an integer representing the build number. For example, in Excel 365, this might be a number like 16.0.xxxxx, but note that Build returns only the numeric build part.

Example Usage:
Consider a scenario where you are automating a report and need to check if the Excel build is compatible with a certain feature. You can retrieve the build number and use it in conditional statements. Below is a code example using xlwings:

import xlwings as xw

# Connect to the active Excel instance or start a new one
app = xw.apps.active if xw.apps.active else xw.App()

# Get the build number
build_number = app.build

# Output the build number
print(f"Excel Build Number: {build_number}")

# Example: Check for a specific build range (e.g., builds after 15000)
if build_number > 15000:
    print("This build supports advanced features.")
else:
    print("Consider updating Excel for full functionality.")

# Close the app if it was created in this script (optional)
if not xw.apps.active:
    app.quit()