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ActivePython requires Windows XP or later.
If you have problems importing certain modules after installation, please check these things before submitting a bug report.
To install ActivePython, download the .msi installation package and run it by double-clicking it. Follow the prompts.
It is recommended that you run the ActivePython installation file from an account with administrative privileges. This will allow other users to use ActivePython, and will ensure that all of ActivePython's features function. Installing ActivePython without administrative privileges has the following limitations:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER and
not under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.You might like to read the Getting Started page in this guide for a general introduction to ActivePython on your platform, and pointers to documentation that will be most useful to you.
You can install the ActivePython MSI from the command line. For example:
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi
ActivePython's installer uses Windows Installer technology. This allows you to partially control the install from the command line. For example:
You can have the ActivePython installer run with a reduced user interface. For example, the following will install silently and only pop up a dialog when the installation is complete.
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi /qn+
The following will install with no user interface at all.
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi /q
You can generate a log of the ActivePython installation with the following command. The following command will generate a log of the install in "install.log".
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi /L*v install.log
Command line options can be used to configure ActivePython installation properties. For example, the following will install ActivePython to "D:\myapps\Python", instead of the default:
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi INSTALLDIR=D:\myapps\Python
ActivePython is divided into a number of distinct features. In the "Customize Setup" dialog you can select which features to install. You can also do this on the command line with the ADDLOCAL property. For example, the following command will install just the core ActivePython functionality (i.e. not the PyWin32 extensions or the documentation.
c:\> msiexec.exe /i ActivePython-<version>.msi ADDLOCAL=core
The current set of ActivePython features are
core ActivePython core (must be installed)
pywin32 PyWin32 extensions
doc Documentation
register Register this as the default Python installation
where the hierarchy denotes dependencies, I.e. to install
pywin32 you must install the core.
These command line options can all be brought together. For example, the following command will silently install just the ActivePython core and documentation to "C:\myapps\Python" and will not register this as the default Python installation.
c:\> msiexec /i ActivePython-<version>.msi /qn+ INSTALLDIR=C:\myapps\Python ADDLOCAL=core,doc
The ActivePython for Windows can be uninstalled using the Modify, Repair
or Uninstall ActivePython
shortcut in the ActiveState ActivePython
2.7
program group in the Windows Start menu. Alternatively,
you may uninstall the ActivePython MSI from Add/Remove
Programs
in the Control Panel.
ActivePython is distributed on Mac OS X as a disk image (.dmg
file). The disk image contains an installer package (.pkg bundle)
that you run to install ActivePython.
Both ActivePython and MacPython (another Python distribution for Mac OS X)
install to the same location on disk
(/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/... with some links in
/usr/local/bin), therefore ActivePython and MacPython
installations of the same versions can collide. The ActivePython installer will
properly install over a MacPython installation of the same version. However it
is recommended that you first uninstall MacPython 2.7 before
installing ActivePython 2.7. For more details, consult the
ActivePython FAQ in this guide.
To install ActivePython:
ActivePython-<version>-macosx.dmg).ActivePython-<version>-macosx.dmg to do
so.ActivePython-2.7.pkg) to start the
installation.ActivePython-<version>-macosx.dmg to
the Trash.ActivePython installs a python link in
/usr/local/bin. By default this directory is not on your
PATH environment variable. Refer to
Getting Started on Mac OS X in this
guide for instructions on putting python on your path and for a
general introduction to ActivePython on Mac OS X.
Mac OS X includes a command-line tool, installer, for
installing OS X packages non-interactively from the command line. This can be
useful for remote administration (e.g. on Apple Xserve hardware). To install
ActivePython non-interactively from the command line:
ActivePython-<version>-macosx.dmg).hdiutil attach path/to/ActivePython-<version>-macosx.dmg
installer -pkg /Volumes/ActivePython-2.7/ActivePython-2.7.pkg -target /
Note: It is sometimes useful to create an install log file
(e.g. to send to ActiveState technical support). To do this, use the
-verbose and -dumplog flags:
installer -pkg /Volumes/ActivePython-2.7/ActivePython-2.7.pkg \
-target / -verbose -dumplog > install.log 2>&1
hdiutil unmount /Volumes/ActivePython-2.7
ActivePython installs a python link in
/usr/local/bin. By default this directory is not on your
PATH environment variable. Refer to
Getting Started on Mac OS X in this
guide for instructions on putting python on your path and for a
general introduction to ActivePython on Mac OS X.
Apple does not provide a standard uninstallation tool or mechanism. You may,
however, use the uninstall script that comes with ActivePython
to uninstall ActivePython:
sudo /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Resources/Scripts/uninstall
Note: ActivePython's uninstall will restore an
older Python installation in
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework if one exists
(using pythonselect).
This means,
for example, that if you have ActivePython 2.4 install then install and
uninstall ActivePython 2.5, your original ActivePython 2.4 will be restored
to its full working state.
The ActivePython "AS package" installer package is a generic
installer for many platforms. It allows you to install ActivePython as a
non-root (non-Administrator) user. To install: Download the package to a
temporary directory, extract the files, and run the
install.sh install script
(install.bat on Windows). For Unix platforms, glibc-2.3+ is
required.
The "AS package" is a standard tarball
(*.tar.gz) for Linux and other Unix-family systems, and a
zip file, (*.zip) for Windows. Note:
Solaris and HP-UX users must use GNU tar to unpack
the tarball, as the default 'tar' on those platforms will not work.
Binary packages of GNU tar are available here:
After installing ActivePython, you might like to read the
Getting Started page in this guide for a
general introduction to ActivePython on your platform (in particular, getting
your newly installed python on your path), and pointers to
documentation that will be most useful to you.
To install interactively, simple run the install script without arguments. The install script will prompt your for an installation directory. On Unix:
% tar xzf ActivePython-version.tar.gz
% cd ActivePython-version
% ./install.sh
or on Windows, unzip ActivePython-version.zip
with WinZip or
equivalent and:
C:\> cd .../ActivePython-version
C:\...\ActivePython-version> install.bat
You can add the bin directory to your PATH environment variable for
quicker access. For example, if you use the Bash shell on Unix, you could
place this in your ~/.bash_profile file (assuming you installed into
/home/guido/ActivePython-2.7):
% export PATH=/home/guido/ActivePython-2.7/bin:$PATH
By default the install script will prompt you for an install directory.
You can avoid this interaction by specifying the install directory with
the -I <installdir> option. Use the -h
option for full usage information.
Uninstalling an "AS Package" installation is as simple as removing the directory to which you installed, because the ActivePython installation is fully contained in that install location.