How to use Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests in the xlwings API way

The IgnoreRemoteRequests property of the Application object in Excel is a Boolean value that determines whether Excel will ignore remote DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) and OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) requests. This is particularly useful in scenarios where you want to prevent external applications from sending requests to Excel, which can enhance security or stability by avoiding unintended interactions or data updates. In xlwings, you can access and manipulate this property through the api property of the App object, allowing seamless integration with Excel’s native object model.

Functionality:
The primary function of IgnoreRemoteRequests is to control Excel’s responsiveness to remote automation calls. When set to True, Excel will ignore incoming DDE and OLE requests, effectively blocking external applications from communicating with it. This can be beneficial in automated environments where you want to ensure that Excel only responds to commands from your script, reducing the risk of interference or errors. When set to False (the default), Excel will accept these requests, allowing normal inter-application communication.

Syntax:
In xlwings, you can access the IgnoreRemoteRequests property using the following syntax:

app.api.IgnoreRemoteRequests

This property is a Boolean, meaning it accepts True or False values. You can both read its current state and set it to a new value. There are no additional parameters required, as it is a simple property of the Application object.

Parameters:
Since IgnoreRemoteRequests is a property, it does not take any direct parameters. However, when setting the value, you assign it using a Boolean:

• True: Excel will ignore remote DDE and OLE requests.
• False: Excel will accept remote DDE and OLE requests (default behavior).

Example Usage:
Below is a code example demonstrating how to use the IgnoreRemoteRequests property with xlwings. This example shows reading the current value, setting it to ignore remote requests, performing some operations, and then resetting it to the default state.

import xlwings as xw

# Start Excel application
app = xw.App(visible=True)

# Read the current value of IgnoreRemoteRequests
current_value = app.api.IgnoreRemoteRequests
print(f"Current IgnoreRemoteRequests value: {current_value}")

# Set IgnoreRemoteRequests to True to ignore remote requests
app.api.IgnoreRemoteRequests = True
print("Remote requests are now ignored.")

# Perform some Excel operations (e.g., open a workbook, write data)
wb = app.books.add()
sheet = wb.sheets[0]
sheet.range('A1').value = 'Sample Data'
print("Workbook created and data written.")

# Reset IgnoreRemoteRequests to False to allow remote requests again
app.api.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
print("Remote requests are now accepted.")

# Close the workbook and quit Excel
wb.close()
app.quit()