How to use Application.CalculationVersion in the xlwings API way

The Application.CalculationVersion property in Excel is a read-only property that returns a Long value representing the version of the calculation engine used by Excel. This value is primarily used internally by Excel to track changes in calculation logic, such as after updates to functions or calculation methods. It can be useful for advanced troubleshooting, auditing, or when you need to ensure that a workbook’s calculations are consistent with a specific version of Excel’s calculation engine. In xlwings, you can access this property through the Application object.

Syntax in xlwings:

app.calculation_version

• app: This is an instance of the xlwings App class, representing the Excel application. You typically obtain it by app = xw.apps.active or by creating a new instance.
• calculation_version: This property returns an integer (Long) that encodes the calculation version. The value is composed of two parts: the major version (higher 16 bits) and the minor version (lower 16 bits). For example, a value of 196617 might correspond to version 3.9 (where 3 is the major part and 9 is the minor part, but exact mapping depends on Excel’s internal use).

Example Usage:
Here are a few code examples demonstrating how to use calculation_version with xlwings:

1. Retrieving the Calculation Version:
   This example gets the calculation version from the active Excel application and prints it as a decimal number and as separate major/minor components using bitwise operations.

import xlwings as xw

# Connect to the active Excel application
app = xw.apps.active

# Get the calculation version
version = app.calculation_version
print(f"Calculation Version (decimal): {version}")

# Extract major and minor parts (higher 16 bits and lower 16 bits)
major_version = (version >> 16) & 0xFFFF
minor_version = version & 0xFFFF
print(f"Major Version: {major_version}, Minor Version: {minor_version}")

2. Comparing Calculation Versions:
   You can compare the calculation version to a known value to check for compatibility or changes. For instance, you might want to verify if the version matches a specific release.

import xlwings as xw

app = xw.apps.active
current_version = app.calculation_version
target_version = 196617 # Example target version, adjust based on your needs

if current_version == target_version:
    print("Calculation engine is up-to-date with the target version.")
else:
    print(f"Calculation version differs. Current: {current_version}, Target: {target_version}")

3. Logging Calculation Version for Auditing:
   In scenarios where you need to audit workbook calculations, you can log the calculation version along with other details to ensure reproducibility.

import xlwings as xw
import datetime

app = xw.apps.active
version = app.calculation_version
timestamp = datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")

# Log to a file or print
log_entry = f"{timestamp} - Calculation Version: {version}\n"
with open("calculation_log.txt", "a") as log_file:
log_file.write(log_entry)
print("Calculation version logged successfully.")

Notes:

• The exact meaning of the version number is not publicly documented by Microsoft and may change with Excel updates. It is generally used for internal tracking, so rely on it cautiously.
• This property is available in Excel 2007 and later versions. In xlwings, ensure you have a compatible Excel installation.
• Since calculation_version is read-only, you cannot set it directly; it reflects the current state of Excel’s calculation engine.