How to use Application.DisplayExcel4Menus in the xlwings API way

The DisplayExcel4Menus property of the Application object in Excel’s object model is a legacy feature primarily retained for backward compatibility with older Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM). In modern Excel usage via xlwings, its practical application is very limited and specialized. This property controls whether the old Excel 4.0 menu bars are displayed in the application window alongside or instead of the standard command bars. In contemporary Excel versions, these classic menus are hidden by default, as the ribbon interface is the primary UI.

Functionality:
The main function is to toggle the visibility of the Excel 4.0 menu bar. This can be useful in rare scenarios where you are maintaining or interacting with very old macro sheets that rely on those specific menu commands for execution or user interaction. For most modern automation and analysis tasks using xlwings, this property is not required.

Syntax in xlwings:
In xlwings, you access this property through the app object, which represents the Excel Application. The property is a Boolean (bool) value.

# To get the current state
current_state = app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus

# To set the state (True to display, False to hide)
app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus = True

The property is a simple read/write attribute. Setting it to True makes the Excel 4.0 menus visible; setting it to False hides them. Note that changes might only be fully apparent when working with an Excel 4.0 macro sheet (.xlm) as the active document.

Code Examples:
Here are practical xlwings API examples demonstrating its use:

1. Checking the Current Status:
   This code checks if the legacy menus are currently displayed.

import xlwings as xw
app = xw.apps.active # Get the active Excel application
menus_visible = app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus
print(f"Excel 4.0 Menus Visible: {menus_visible}")

2. Toggling the Display:
   This script toggles the visibility state. It’s a good practice to restore the original state after your operation if you are temporarily changing it.

import xlwings as xw
app = xw.apps.active

original_state = app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus
print(f"Original state: {original_state}")

# Toggle the state
app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus = not original_state
print("Toggled display state.")

# ... Perform any tasks that require the menu state change ...

# Restore the original state
app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus = original_state
print("Original state restored.")

3. Ensuring Menus are Visible for a Legacy Macro:
   If you need to ensure the menus are visible before running an old command, you might use this pattern.

import xlwings as xw
app = xw.apps.active

# Force the menus to be displayed
app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus = True

# Assuming 'wb' is a workbook containing Excel 4.0 macros
# wb.api.ExecuteExcel4Macro("SomeOldMacro()") # Example of running an XLM macro

# It is often advisable to hide them again afterwards to clean up the UI
# app.api.DisplayExcel4Menus = False