now sectionwise: excel / date_parser #4332
This is the second part of the fix.

As requested in #4631 the python modifications are now singled out & separated from the doc changes
 Please clarify the title of this PR (I'm not clear how this fits)
 closing as too broad. @timmie A PR should address a single item w/o touching any ancillary code. You are free to resubmit if you would like.
