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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
2 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
3
4
5<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
6 <head>
7 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]9 <title>24.6. IDLE &mdash; Python 2.7.10 documentation</title>
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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]11 <link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/default.css" type="text/css" />
12 <link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/pygments.css" type="text/css" />
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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]14 <script type="text/javascript">
15 var DOCUMENTATION_OPTIONS = {
16 URL_ROOT: '../',
17 VERSION: '2.7.10',
18 COLLAPSE_INDEX: false,
19 FILE_SUFFIX: '.html',
20 HAS_SOURCE: true
21 };
22 </script>
23 <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/jquery.js"></script>
24 <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/underscore.js"></script>
25 <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/doctools.js"></script>
26 <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/sidebar.js"></script>
27 <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml"
28 title="Search within Python 2.7.10 documentation"
29 href="../_static/opensearch.xml"/>
30 <link rel="author" title="About these documents" href="../about.html" />
31 <link rel="copyright" title="Copyright" href="../copyright.html" />
32 <link rel="top" title="Python 2.7.10 documentation" href="../index.html" />
33 <link rel="up" title="24. Graphical User Interfaces with Tk" href="tk.html" />
34 <link rel="next" title="24.7. Other Graphical User Interface Packages" href="othergui.html" />
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42 </head>
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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]44 <div class="related">
45 <h3>Navigation</h3>
46 <ul>
47 <li class="right" style="margin-right: 10px">
48 <a href="../genindex.html" title="General Index"
49 accesskey="I">index</a></li>
50 <li class="right" >
51 <a href="../py-modindex.html" title="Python Module Index"
52 >modules</a> |</li>
53 <li class="right" >
54 <a href="othergui.html" title="24.7. Other Graphical User Interface Packages"
55 accesskey="N">next</a> |</li>
56 <li class="right" >
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63 <a href="../index.html">Python 2.7.10 documentation</a> &raquo;
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Terry Jan Reedy72895c12015-09-20 20:02:23 -0400[diff] [blame^]67 <li><a href="tk.html" accesskey="U">24. Graphical User Interfaces with Tk</a> &raquo;</li>
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71 <div class="document">
72 <div class="documentwrapper">
73 <div class="bodywrapper">
74 <div class="body">
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Terry Jan Reedya2f257b2015-09-20 19:56:54 -0400[diff] [blame]76 <div class="section" id="idle">
77<span id="id1"></span><h1>24.6. IDLE<a class="headerlink" href="#idle" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h1>
78<p id="index-0">IDLE is the Python IDE built with the <tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">tkinter</span></tt> GUI toolkit.</p>
79<p>IDLE has the following features:</p>
80<ul class="simple">
81<li>coded in 100% pure Python, using the <tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">tkinter</span></tt> GUI toolkit</li>
82<li>cross-platform: works on Windows, Unix, and Mac OS X</li>
83<li>multi-window text editor with multiple undo, Python colorizing,
84smart indent, call tips, and many other features</li>
85<li>Python shell window (a.k.a. interactive interpreter)</li>
86<li>debugger (not complete, but you can set breakpoints, view and step)</li>
87</ul>
88<div class="section" id="menus">
89<h2>24.6.1. Menus<a class="headerlink" href="#menus" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
90<p>IDLE has two main window types, the Shell window and the Editor window. It is
91possible to have multiple editor windows simultaneously. Output windows, such
92as used for Edit / Find in Files, are a subtype of edit window. They currently
93have the same top menu as Editor windows but a different default title and
94context menu.</p>
95<p>IDLE&#8217;s menus dynamically change based on which window is currently selected.
96Each menu documented below indicates which window type it is associated with.</p>
97<div class="section" id="file-menu-shell-and-editor">
98<h3>24.6.1.1. File menu (Shell and Editor)<a class="headerlink" href="#file-menu-shell-and-editor" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
99<dl class="docutils">
100<dt>New File</dt>
101<dd>Create a new file editing window.</dd>
102<dt>Open...</dt>
103<dd>Open an existing file with an Open dialog.</dd>
104<dt>Recent Files</dt>
105<dd>Open a list of recent files. Click one to open it.</dd>
106<dt>Open Module...</dt>
107<dd>Open an existing module (searches sys.path).</dd>
108</dl>
109<dl class="docutils" id="index-1">
110<dt>Class Browser</dt>
111<dd>Show functions, classes, and methods in the current Editor file in a
112tree structure. In the shell, open a module first.</dd>
113<dt>Path Browser</dt>
114<dd>Show sys.path directories, modules, functions, classes and methods in a
115tree structure.</dd>
116<dt>Save</dt>
117<dd>Save the current window to the associated file, if there is one. Windows
118that have been changed since being opened or last saved have a * before
119and after the window title. If there is no associated file,
120do Save As instead.</dd>
121<dt>Save As...</dt>
122<dd>Save the current window with a Save As dialog. The file saved becomes the
123new associated file for the window.</dd>
124<dt>Save Copy As...</dt>
125<dd>Save the current window to different file without changing the associated
126file.</dd>
127<dt>Print Window</dt>
128<dd>Print the current window to the default printer.</dd>
129<dt>Close</dt>
130<dd>Close the current window (ask to save if unsaved).</dd>
131<dt>Exit</dt>
132<dd>Close all windows and quit IDLE (ask to save unsaved windows).</dd>
133</dl>
134</div>
135<div class="section" id="edit-menu-shell-and-editor">
136<h3>24.6.1.2. Edit menu (Shell and Editor)<a class="headerlink" href="#edit-menu-shell-and-editor" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
137<dl class="docutils">
138<dt>Undo</dt>
139<dd>Undo the last change to the current window. A maximum of 1000 changes may
140be undone.</dd>
141<dt>Redo</dt>
142<dd>Redo the last undone change to the current window.</dd>
143<dt>Cut</dt>
144<dd>Copy selection into the system-wide clipboard; then delete the selection.</dd>
145<dt>Copy</dt>
146<dd>Copy selection into the system-wide clipboard.</dd>
147<dt>Paste</dt>
148<dd>Insert contents of the system-wide clipboard into the current window.</dd>
149</dl>
150<p>The clipboard functions are also available in context menus.</p>
151<dl class="docutils">
152<dt>Select All</dt>
153<dd>Select the entire contents of the current window.</dd>
154<dt>Find...</dt>
155<dd>Open a search dialog with many options</dd>
156<dt>Find Again</dt>
157<dd>Repeat the last search, if there is one.</dd>
158<dt>Find Selection</dt>
159<dd>Search for the currently selected string, if there is one.</dd>
160<dt>Find in Files...</dt>
161<dd>Open a file search dialog. Put results in an new output window.</dd>
162<dt>Replace...</dt>
163<dd>Open a search-and-replace dialog.</dd>
164<dt>Go to Line</dt>
165<dd>Move cursor to the line number requested and make that line visible.</dd>
166<dt>Show Completions</dt>
167<dd>Open a scrollable list allowing selection of keywords and attributes. See
168Completions in the Tips sections below.</dd>
169<dt>Expand Word</dt>
170<dd>Expand a prefix you have typed to match a full word in the same window;
171repeat to get a different expansion.</dd>
172<dt>Show call tip</dt>
173<dd>After an unclosed parenthesis for a function, open a small window with
174function parameter hints.</dd>
175<dt>Show surrounding parens</dt>
176<dd>Highlight the surrounding parenthesis.</dd>
177</dl>
178</div>
179<div class="section" id="format-menu-editor-window-only">
180<h3>24.6.1.3. Format menu (Editor window only)<a class="headerlink" href="#format-menu-editor-window-only" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
181<dl class="docutils">
182<dt>Indent Region</dt>
183<dd>Shift selected lines right by the indent width (default 4 spaces).</dd>
184<dt>Dedent Region</dt>
185<dd>Shift selected lines left by the indent width (default 4 spaces).</dd>
186<dt>Comment Out Region</dt>
187<dd>Insert ## in front of selected lines.</dd>
188<dt>Uncomment Region</dt>
189<dd>Remove leading # or ## from selected lines.</dd>
190<dt>Tabify Region</dt>
191<dd>Turn <em>leading</em> stretches of spaces into tabs. (Note: We recommend using
1924 space blocks to indent Python code.)</dd>
193<dt>Untabify Region</dt>
194<dd>Turn <em>all</em> tabs into the correct number of spaces.</dd>
195<dt>Toggle Tabs</dt>
196<dd>Open a dialog to switch between indenting with spaces and tabs.</dd>
197<dt>New Indent Width</dt>
198<dd>Open a dialog to change indent width. The accepted default by the Python
199community is 4 spaces.</dd>
200<dt>Format Paragraph</dt>
201<dd>Reformat the current blank-line-delimited paragraph in comment block or
202multiline string or selected line in a string. All lines in the
203paragraph will be formatted to less than N columns, where N defaults to 72.</dd>
204<dt>Strip trailing whitespace</dt>
205<dd>Remove any space characters after the last non-space character of a line.</dd>
206</dl>
207</div>
208<div class="section" id="run-menu-editor-window-only">
209<span id="index-2"></span><h3>24.6.1.4. Run menu (Editor window only)<a class="headerlink" href="#run-menu-editor-window-only" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
210<dl class="docutils">
211<dt>Python Shell</dt>
212<dd>Open or wake up the Python Shell window.</dd>
213<dt>Check Module</dt>
214<dd>Check the syntax of the module currently open in the Editor window. If the
215module has not been saved IDLE will either prompt the user to save or
216autosave, as selected in the General tab of the Idle Settings dialog. If
217there is a syntax error, the approximate location is indicated in the
218Editor window.</dd>
219<dt>Run Module</dt>
220<dd>Do Check Module (above). If no error, restart the shell to clean the
221environment, then execute the module.</dd>
222</dl>
223</div>
224<div class="section" id="shell-menu-shell-window-only">
225<h3>24.6.1.5. Shell menu (Shell window only)<a class="headerlink" href="#shell-menu-shell-window-only" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
226<dl class="docutils">
227<dt>View Last Restart</dt>
228<dd>Scroll the shell window to the last Shell restart.</dd>
229<dt>Restart Shell</dt>
230<dd>Restart the shell to clean the environment.</dd>
231</dl>
232</div>
233<div class="section" id="debug-menu-shell-window-only">
234<h3>24.6.1.6. Debug menu (Shell window only)<a class="headerlink" href="#debug-menu-shell-window-only" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
235<dl class="docutils">
236<dt>Go to File/Line</dt>
237<dd>Look on the current line. with the cursor, and the line above for a filename
238and line number. If found, open the file if not already open, and show the
239line. Use this to view source lines referenced in an exception traceback
240and lines found by Find in Files. Also available in the context menu of
241the Shell window and Output windows.</dd>
242</dl>
243<dl class="docutils" id="index-3">
244<dt>Debugger (toggle)</dt>
245<dd>When actived, code entered in the Shell or run from an Editor will run
246under the debugger. In the Editor, breakpoints can be set with the context
247menu. This feature is still incomplete and somewhat experimental.</dd>
248<dt>Stack Viewer</dt>
249<dd>Show the stack traceback of the last exception in a tree widget, with
250access to locals and globals.</dd>
251<dt>Auto-open Stack Viewer</dt>
252<dd>Toggle automatically opening the stack viewer on an unhandled exception.</dd>
253</dl>
254</div>
255<div class="section" id="options-menu-shell-and-editor">
256<h3>24.6.1.7. Options menu (Shell and Editor)<a class="headerlink" href="#options-menu-shell-and-editor" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
257<dl class="docutils">
258<dt>Configure IDLE</dt>
259<dd>Open a configuration dialog. Fonts, indentation, keybindings, and color
260themes may be altered. Startup Preferences may be set, and additional
261help sources can be specified. Non-default user setting are saved in a
262.idlerc directory in the user&#8217;s home directory. Problems caused by bad user
263configuration files are solved by editing or deleting one or more of the
264files in .idlerc. On OS X, open the configuration dialog by selecting
265Preferences in the application menu.</dd>
266<dt>Configure Extensions</dt>
267<dd>Open a configuration dialog for setting preferences for extensions
268(discussed below). See note above about the location of user settings.</dd>
269<dt>Code Context (toggle)(Editor Window only)</dt>
270<dd>Open a pane at the top of the edit window which shows the block context
271of the code which has scrolled above the top of the window.</dd>
272</dl>
273</div>
274<div class="section" id="window-menu-shell-and-editor">
275<h3>24.6.1.8. Window menu (Shell and Editor)<a class="headerlink" href="#window-menu-shell-and-editor" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
276<dl class="docutils">
277<dt>Zoom Height</dt>
278<dd>Toggles the window between normal size and maximum height. The initial size
279defaults to 40 lines by 80 chars unless changed on the General tab of the
280Configure IDLE dialog.</dd>
281</dl>
282<p>The rest of this menu lists the names of all open windows; select one to bring
283it to the foreground (deiconifying it if necessary).</p>
284</div>
285<div class="section" id="help-menu-shell-and-editor">
286<h3>24.6.1.9. Help menu (Shell and Editor)<a class="headerlink" href="#help-menu-shell-and-editor" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
287<dl class="docutils">
288<dt>About IDLE</dt>
289<dd>Display version, copyright, license, credits, and more.</dd>
290<dt>IDLE Help</dt>
291<dd>Display a help file for IDLE detailing the menu options, basic editing and
292navigation, and other tips.</dd>
293<dt>Python Docs</dt>
294<dd>Access local Python documentation, if installed, or start a web browser
295and open docs.python.org showing the latest Python documentation.</dd>
296<dt>Turtle Demo</dt>
297<dd>Run the turtledemo module with example python code and turtle drawings.</dd>
298</dl>
299<p>Additional help sources may be added here with the Configure IDLE dialog under
300the General tab.</p>
301</div>
302<div class="section" id="context-menus">
303<span id="index-4"></span><h3>24.6.1.10. Context Menus<a class="headerlink" href="#context-menus" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
304<p>Open a context menu by right-clicking in a window (Control-click on OS X).
305Context menus have the standard clipboard functions also on the Edit menu.</p>
306<dl class="docutils">
307<dt>Cut</dt>
308<dd>Copy selection into the system-wide clipboard; then delete the selection.</dd>
309<dt>Copy</dt>
310<dd>Copy selection into the system-wide clipboard.</dd>
311<dt>Paste</dt>
312<dd>Insert contents of the system-wide clipboard into the current window.</dd>
313</dl>
314<p>Editor windows also have breakpoint functions. Lines with a breakpoint set are
315specially marked. Breakpoints only have an effect when running under the
316debugger. Breakpoints for a file are saved in the user&#8217;s .idlerc directory.</p>
317<dl class="docutils">
318<dt>Set Breakpoint</dt>
319<dd>Set a breakpoint on the current line.</dd>
320<dt>Clear Breakpoint</dt>
321<dd>Clear the breakpoint on that line.</dd>
322</dl>
323<p>Shell and Output windows have the following.</p>
324<dl class="docutils">
325<dt>Go to file/line</dt>
326<dd>Same as in Debug menu.</dd>
327</dl>
328</div>
329</div>
330<div class="section" id="editing-and-navigation">
331<h2>24.6.2. Editing and navigation<a class="headerlink" href="#editing-and-navigation" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
332<p>In this section, &#8216;C&#8217; refers to the <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Control</span></tt> key on Windows and Unix and
333the <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Command</span></tt> key on Mac OSX.</p>
334<ul>
335<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Backspace</span></tt> deletes to the left; <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Del</span></tt> deletes to the right</p>
336</li>
337<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-Backspace</span></tt> delete word left; <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-Del</span></tt> delete word to the right</p>
338</li>
339<li><p class="first">Arrow keys and <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Page</span> <span class="pre">Up</span></tt>/<tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Page</span> <span class="pre">Down</span></tt> to move around</p>
340</li>
341<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-LeftArrow</span></tt> and <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-RightArrow</span></tt> moves by words</p>
342</li>
343<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Home</span></tt>/<tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">End</span></tt> go to begin/end of line</p>
344</li>
345<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-Home</span></tt>/<tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-End</span></tt> go to begin/end of file</p>
346</li>
347<li><p class="first">Some useful Emacs bindings are inherited from Tcl/Tk:</p>
348<blockquote>
349<div><ul class="simple">
350<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-a</span></tt> beginning of line</li>
351<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-e</span></tt> end of line</li>
352<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-k</span></tt> kill line (but doesn&#8217;t put it in clipboard)</li>
353<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-l</span></tt> center window around the insertion point</li>
354<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-b</span></tt> go backwards one character without deleting (usually you can
355also use the cursor key for this)</li>
356<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-f</span></tt> go forward one character without deleting (usually you can
357also use the cursor key for this)</li>
358<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-p</span></tt> go up one line (usually you can also use the cursor key for
359this)</li>
360<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-d</span></tt> delete next character</li>
361</ul>
362</div></blockquote>
363</li>
364</ul>
365<p>Standard keybindings (like <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-c</span></tt> to copy and <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-v</span></tt> to paste)
366may work. Keybindings are selected in the Configure IDLE dialog.</p>
367<div class="section" id="automatic-indentation">
368<h3>24.6.2.1. Automatic indentation<a class="headerlink" href="#automatic-indentation" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
369<p>After a block-opening statement, the next line is indented by 4 spaces (in the
370Python Shell window by one tab). After certain keywords (break, return etc.)
371the next line is dedented. In leading indentation, <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Backspace</span></tt> deletes up
372to 4 spaces if they are there. <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Tab</span></tt> inserts spaces (in the Python
373Shell window one tab), number depends on Indent width. Currently tabs
374are restricted to four spaces due to Tcl/Tk limitations.</p>
375<p>See also the indent/dedent region commands in the edit menu.</p>
376</div>
377<div class="section" id="completions">
378<h3>24.6.2.2. Completions<a class="headerlink" href="#completions" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
379<p>Completions are supplied for functions, classes, and attributes of classes,
380both built-in and user-defined. Completions are also provided for
381filenames.</p>
382<p>The AutoCompleteWindow (ACW) will open after a predefined delay (default is
383two seconds) after a &#8216;.&#8217; or (in a string) an os.sep is typed. If after one
384of those characters (plus zero or more other characters) a tab is typed
385the ACW will open immediately if a possible continuation is found.</p>
386<p>If there is only one possible completion for the characters entered, a
387<tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Tab</span></tt> will supply that completion without opening the ACW.</p>
388<p>&#8216;Show Completions&#8217; will force open a completions window, by default the
389<tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-space</span></tt> will open a completions window. In an empty
390string, this will contain the files in the current directory. On a
391blank line, it will contain the built-in and user-defined functions and
392classes in the current name spaces, plus any modules imported. If some
393characters have been entered, the ACW will attempt to be more specific.</p>
394<p>If a string of characters is typed, the ACW selection will jump to the
395entry most closely matching those characters. Entering a <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">tab</span></tt> will
396cause the longest non-ambiguous match to be entered in the Editor window or
397Shell. Two <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">tab</span></tt> in a row will supply the current ACW selection, as
398will return or a double click. Cursor keys, Page Up/Down, mouse selection,
399and the scroll wheel all operate on the ACW.</p>
400<p>&#8220;Hidden&#8221; attributes can be accessed by typing the beginning of hidden
401name after a &#8216;.&#8217;, e.g. &#8216;_&#8217;. This allows access to modules with
402<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__all__</span></tt> set, or to class-private attributes.</p>
403<p>Completions and the &#8216;Expand Word&#8217; facility can save a lot of typing!</p>
404<p>Completions are currently limited to those in the namespaces. Names in
405an Editor window which are not via <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">__main__</span></tt> and <a class="reference internal" href="sys.html#sys.modules" title="sys.modules"><tt class="xref py py-data docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.modules</span></tt></a> will
406not be found. Run the module once with your imports to correct this situation.
407Note that IDLE itself places quite a few modules in sys.modules, so
408much can be found by default, e.g. the re module.</p>
409<p>If you don&#8217;t like the ACW popping up unbidden, simply make the delay
410longer or disable the extension. Or another option is the delay could
411be set to zero. Another alternative to preventing ACW popups is to
412disable the call tips extension.</p>
413</div>
414<div class="section" id="python-shell-window">
415<h3>24.6.2.3. Python Shell window<a class="headerlink" href="#python-shell-window" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
416<ul>
417<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-c</span></tt> interrupts executing command</p>
418</li>
419<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-d</span></tt> sends end-of-file; closes window if typed at a <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">&gt;&gt;&gt;</span></tt> prompt</p>
420</li>
421<li><p class="first"><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Alt-/</span></tt> (Expand word) is also useful to reduce typing</p>
422<p>Command history</p>
423<ul class="simple">
424<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Alt-p</span></tt> retrieves previous command matching what you have typed. On
425OS X use <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-p</span></tt>.</li>
426<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Alt-n</span></tt> retrieves next. On OS X use <tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">C-n</span></tt>.</li>
427<li><tt class="kbd docutils literal"><span class="pre">Return</span></tt> while on any previous command retrieves that command</li>
428</ul>
429</li>
430</ul>
431</div>
432</div>
433<div class="section" id="syntax-colors">
434<h2>24.6.3. Syntax colors<a class="headerlink" href="#syntax-colors" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
435<p>The coloring is applied in a background &#8220;thread,&#8221; so you may occasionally see
436uncolorized text. To change the color scheme, edit the <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">[Colors]</span></tt> section in
437<tt class="file docutils literal"><span class="pre">config.txt</span></tt>.</p>
438<dl class="docutils">
439<dt>Python syntax colors:</dt>
440<dd><dl class="first last docutils">
441<dt>Keywords</dt>
442<dd>orange</dd>
443<dt>Strings</dt>
444<dd>green</dd>
445<dt>Comments</dt>
446<dd>red</dd>
447<dt>Definitions</dt>
448<dd>blue</dd>
449</dl>
450</dd>
451<dt>Shell colors:</dt>
452<dd><dl class="first last docutils">
453<dt>Console output</dt>
454<dd>brown</dd>
455<dt>stdout</dt>
456<dd>blue</dd>
457<dt>stderr</dt>
458<dd>dark green</dd>
459<dt>stdin</dt>
460<dd>black</dd>
461</dl>
462</dd>
463</dl>
464</div>
465<div class="section" id="startup">
466<h2>24.6.4. Startup<a class="headerlink" href="#startup" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
467<p>Upon startup with the <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-s</span></tt> option, IDLE will execute the file referenced by
468the environment variables <span class="target" id="index-5"></span><tt class="xref std std-envvar docutils literal"><span class="pre">IDLESTARTUP</span></tt> or <span class="target" id="index-6"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../using/cmdline.html#envvar-PYTHONSTARTUP"><tt class="xref std std-envvar docutils literal"><span class="pre">PYTHONSTARTUP</span></tt></a>.
469IDLE first checks for <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">IDLESTARTUP</span></tt>; if <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">IDLESTARTUP</span></tt> is present the file
470referenced is run. If <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">IDLESTARTUP</span></tt> is not present, IDLE checks for
471<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">PYTHONSTARTUP</span></tt>. Files referenced by these environment variables are
472convenient places to store functions that are used frequently from the IDLE
473shell, or for executing import statements to import common modules.</p>
474<p>In addition, <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">Tk</span></tt> also loads a startup file if it is present. Note that the
475Tk file is loaded unconditionally. This additional file is <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">.Idle.py</span></tt> and is
476looked for in the user&#8217;s home directory. Statements in this file will be
477executed in the Tk namespace, so this file is not useful for importing
478functions to be used from IDLE&#8217;s Python shell.</p>
479<div class="section" id="command-line-usage">
480<h3>24.6.4.1. Command line usage<a class="headerlink" href="#command-line-usage" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
481<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre>idle.py [-c command] [-d] [-e] [-s] [-t title] [arg] ...
482
483-c command run this command
484-d enable debugger
485-e edit mode; arguments are files to be edited
486-s run $IDLESTARTUP or $PYTHONSTARTUP first
487-t title set title of shell window
488</pre></div>
489</div>
490<p>If there are arguments:</p>
491<ol class="arabic simple">
492<li>If <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-e</span></tt> is used, arguments are files opened for editing and
493<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv</span></tt> reflects the arguments passed to IDLE itself.</li>
494<li>Otherwise, if <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-c</span></tt> is used, all arguments are placed in
495<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv[1:...]</span></tt>, with <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv[0]</span></tt> set to <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">'-c'</span></tt>.</li>
496<li>Otherwise, if neither <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-e</span></tt> nor <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-c</span></tt> is used, the first
497argument is a script which is executed with the remaining arguments in
498<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv[1:...]</span></tt> and <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv[0]</span></tt> set to the script name. If the
499script name is &#8216;-&#8216;, no script is executed but an interactive Python session
500is started; the arguments are still available in <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys.argv</span></tt>.</li>
501</ol>
502</div>
503<div class="section" id="running-without-a-subprocess">
504<h3>24.6.4.2. Running without a subprocess<a class="headerlink" href="#running-without-a-subprocess" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
505<p>If IDLE is started with the -n command line switch it will run in a
506single process and will not create the subprocess which runs the RPC
507Python execution server. This can be useful if Python cannot create
508the subprocess or the RPC socket interface on your platform. However,
509in this mode user code is not isolated from IDLE itself. Also, the
510environment is not restarted when Run/Run Module (F5) is selected. If
511your code has been modified, you must reload() the affected modules and
512re-import any specific items (e.g. from foo import baz) if the changes
513are to take effect. For these reasons, it is preferable to run IDLE
514with the default subprocess if at all possible.</p>
515<div class="deprecated">
516<p><span class="versionmodified">Deprecated since version 3.4.</span></p>
517</div>
518</div>
519</div>
520<div class="section" id="help-and-preferences">
521<h2>24.6.5. Help and preferences<a class="headerlink" href="#help-and-preferences" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
522<div class="section" id="additional-help-sources">
523<h3>24.6.5.1. Additional help sources<a class="headerlink" href="#additional-help-sources" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
524<p>IDLE includes a help menu entry called &#8220;Python Docs&#8221; that will open the
525extensive sources of help, including tutorials, available at docs.python.org.
526Selected URLs can be added or removed from the help menu at any time using the
527Configure IDLE dialog. See the IDLE help option in the help menu of IDLE for
528more information.</p>
529</div>
530<div class="section" id="setting-preferences">
531<h3>24.6.5.2. Setting preferences<a class="headerlink" href="#setting-preferences" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
532<p>The font preferences, highlighting, keys, and general preferences can be
533changed via Configure IDLE on the Option menu. Keys can be user defined;
534IDLE ships with four built in key sets. In addition a user can create a
535custom key set in the Configure IDLE dialog under the keys tab.</p>
536</div>
537<div class="section" id="extensions">
538<h3>24.6.5.3. Extensions<a class="headerlink" href="#extensions" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
539<p>IDLE contains an extension facility. Peferences for extensions can be
540changed with Configure Extensions. See the beginning of config-extensions.def
541in the idlelib directory for further information. The default extensions
542are currently:</p>
543<ul class="simple">
544<li>FormatParagraph</li>
545<li>AutoExpand</li>
546<li>ZoomHeight</li>
547<li>ScriptBinding</li>
548<li>CallTips</li>
549<li>ParenMatch</li>
550<li>AutoComplete</li>
551<li>CodeContext</li>
552<li>RstripExtension</li>
553</ul>
554</div>
555</div>
556</div>
557
558
559 </div>
560 </div>
561 </div>
562 <div class="sphinxsidebar">
563 <div class="sphinxsidebarwrapper">
564 <h3><a href="../contents.html">Table Of Contents</a></h3>
565 <ul>
566<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">24.6. IDLE</a><ul>
567<li><a class="reference internal" href="#menus">24.6.1. Menus</a><ul>
568<li><a class="reference internal" href="#file-menu-shell-and-editor">24.6.1.1. File menu (Shell and Editor)</a></li>
569<li><a class="reference internal" href="#edit-menu-shell-and-editor">24.6.1.2. Edit menu (Shell and Editor)</a></li>
570<li><a class="reference internal" href="#format-menu-editor-window-only">24.6.1.3. Format menu (Editor window only)</a></li>
571<li><a class="reference internal" href="#run-menu-editor-window-only">24.6.1.4. Run menu (Editor window only)</a></li>
572<li><a class="reference internal" href="#shell-menu-shell-window-only">24.6.1.5. Shell menu (Shell window only)</a></li>
573<li><a class="reference internal" href="#debug-menu-shell-window-only">24.6.1.6. Debug menu (Shell window only)</a></li>
574<li><a class="reference internal" href="#options-menu-shell-and-editor">24.6.1.7. Options menu (Shell and Editor)</a></li>
575<li><a class="reference internal" href="#window-menu-shell-and-editor">24.6.1.8. Window menu (Shell and Editor)</a></li>
576<li><a class="reference internal" href="#help-menu-shell-and-editor">24.6.1.9. Help menu (Shell and Editor)</a></li>
577<li><a class="reference internal" href="#context-menus">24.6.1.10. Context Menus</a></li>
578</ul>
579</li>
580<li><a class="reference internal" href="#editing-and-navigation">24.6.2. Editing and navigation</a><ul>
581<li><a class="reference internal" href="#automatic-indentation">24.6.2.1. Automatic indentation</a></li>
582<li><a class="reference internal" href="#completions">24.6.2.2. Completions</a></li>
583<li><a class="reference internal" href="#python-shell-window">24.6.2.3. Python Shell window</a></li>
584</ul>
585</li>
586<li><a class="reference internal" href="#syntax-colors">24.6.3. Syntax colors</a></li>
587<li><a class="reference internal" href="#startup">24.6.4. Startup</a><ul>
588<li><a class="reference internal" href="#command-line-usage">24.6.4.1. Command line usage</a></li>
589<li><a class="reference internal" href="#running-without-a-subprocess">24.6.4.2. Running without a subprocess</a></li>
590</ul>
591</li>
592<li><a class="reference internal" href="#help-and-preferences">24.6.5. Help and preferences</a><ul>
593<li><a class="reference internal" href="#additional-help-sources">24.6.5.1. Additional help sources</a></li>
594<li><a class="reference internal" href="#setting-preferences">24.6.5.2. Setting preferences</a></li>
595<li><a class="reference internal" href="#extensions">24.6.5.3. Extensions</a></li>
596</ul>
597</li>
598</ul>
599</li>
600</ul>
601
602 <h4>Previous topic</h4>
603 <p class="topless"><a href="turtle.html"
604 title="previous chapter">24.5. <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">turtle</span></tt> &#8212; Turtle graphics for Tk</a></p>
605 <h4>Next topic</h4>
606 <p class="topless"><a href="othergui.html"
607 title="next chapter">24.7. Other Graphical User Interface Packages</a></p>
608<h3>This Page</h3>
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