Added elaborate trouble shooting guide.
Added more specific directions for editing the environment on Windows '95.
Made the section headers more visible.
diff --git a/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt b/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
index eeca4ca..783fc1e 100644
--- a/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
+++ b/PC/setup_nt/readme.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
Win32s. For general information on Python, see
http://www.python.org/.
-To install:
+
+To install
+----------
Unzip the archive in the root of a file system with enough space. It
will create a directory \Python1.4b3 containing subdirectories Bin and
@@ -19,27 +21,47 @@
Run the SETUP.BAT file found in directory just created. When it is
done, press Enter.
-To use:
+Tcl/Tk support requires additional installation steps, see below.
+
+
+To use
+------
Python runs in a console (DOS) window. From the File Manager, run the
file python.exe found in the Bin subdirectory. You can also drag it
to a program group of your choice for easier access. Opening any file
ending in .py from the file manager should run it.
-To use with Tkinter:
-Get the file win41p1.exe from here or from ftp site ftp.sunlabs.com,
-directory /pub/tcl/. This is a self-extracting archive containing the
-Tcl/Tk distribution for Windows NT. Don't use an older version.
+To use with Tkinter
+-------------------
+
+Get the file win41p1.exe from /pub/python/nt/ on ftp.python.org or
+from ftp site ftp.sunlabs.com, directory /pub/tcl/. This is a
+self-extracting archive containing the Tcl/Tk distribution for Windows
+NT. Don't use an older version.
Using the control panel, set the TCL_LIBRARY and TK_LIBRARY
environment variables. E.g. if you installed Tcl/Tk in C:\TCL (the
default suggested by the installer), set TCL_LIBRARY to
"C:\TCL\lib\tcl7.5" and set TK_LIBRARY to "C:\TCL\lib\tk4.1".
+On Windows '95, you need to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT for this, e.g. by adding
+the lines
+
+ SET TCL_LIBRARY=C:\Program Files\TCL\lib\tcl7.5
+ SET TK_LIBRARY=C:\Program Files\TCL\lib\tk4.1
+
+(substituting the actual location of the TCL installation directory).
+
On Windows '95, you also need to add the directory "C:\TCL\bin" (or
whereever the Tcl bin directory ended up) to the PATH environment
-variable. (Sorry, I don't know how to do this myself :-( )
+variable in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Do this by editing the
+AUTOEXEC.BAT file, e.g. by adding this line to the end:
+
+ SET PATH="%PATH%";"C:\Program Files\TCL\bin"
+
+(substituting the actual location of the TCL installation directory).
Once Tcl/Tk is installed, you should be able to type the following
commands in Python:
@@ -50,7 +72,95 @@
This creates a simple test dialog box (you may have to move the Python
window a bit to see it). Click on OK to get the Python prompt back.
-To uninstall:
+
+Troubleshooting
+---------------
+
+The following procedure will test successive components required for
+successful use of Python and Tkinter. The steps before "import
+_tkinter" can be used to verify the proper installation of the Python
+core.
+
+- First, run the Python interpreter (python.exe). This should give
+you a ">>>" prompt in a "MS-DOS console" window. This may fail with a
+complaint about being unable to find the file MSVC40RT.DLL. This file
+(along with several other files) is included in the MSOFTDLL.EXE
+self-extracting archive available in the /pub/python/wpy directory on
+ftp.python.org. After extraction, move MSVCRT40.NT to
+\Windows\System\MSVCRT40.DLL (note the change of extension).
+
+- If you can't get a ">>>" prompt, your core Python installation may
+be botched. Reinstall from the ZIP file (see above) and run
+SETUP.BAT.
+
+- At the ">>>" prompt, type a few commands. Each command should
+succeed without complaints. Remember that Python is a case sensitive
+language, so type the commands exactly as shown ("tkinter" and
+"Tkinter" are two very different things).
+
+>>> import sys
+
+ If this fails, you can't type :-) (Explanation: this is a
+ built-in module that is pre-initialized before the first ">>>"
+ prompt is printed. There is no way that this import can fail
+ except by a typo.)
+
+>>> import string
+
+ If this fails, the Python library cannot be found. Reinstall
+ Python. (Explanation: the registry entry for PythonPath is
+ botched. Inspect sys.path to see what it is. If it is
+ something like ['.', '.\\lib', '.\\lib\\win'], the setup.py
+ script has not run successfully and you may get away with
+ rerunning the SETUP.BAT file.)
+
+>>> import _tkinter
+
+ This can fail in a number of ways:
+
+ ImportError: No module named _tkinter
+ The Python module file _tkinter.dll can't be found.
+ Since it is installed by default, the installation is
+ probably botched. Reinstall Python.
+
+ ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not
+ be found. (Possibly with a dialog box explaining that
+ TCL75.DLL or TK41.DLL could not be found.)
+ Probably a Tcl/Tk installation error. Reinstall Tcl/Tk.
+ Note that on Windows '95, you may need to add the Tcl
+ bin directory to the PATH environment variable.
+
+ Other failures:
+ It may be possible that you have an early prerelease
+ TCL75.DLL or TK41.DLL, which is incompatible with the
+ _tkinter module in the Python distribution. This will
+ most likely result in error messages that don't make a
+ lot of sense. Try installing Tcl/Tk from the
+ win41p1.exe self-extracting archive found in
+ /pub/python/nt on ftp.python.org.
+
+>>> import Tkinter
+
+ If this fails, your Python library or sys.path is botched.
+ Your best bet, again, is to reinstall Python.
+
+>>> Tkinter._test()
+
+ This should pop up a window with a label ("Proof-of-existence
+ test for TK") and two buttons ("Click me!" and "QUIT").
+ If you get nothing at all (not even a ">>>" prompt), the
+ window is probably hiding behind the Python console window.
+ Move the console window around to reveal the test window.
+
+ If you get an exception instead, it is most likely a verbose
+ complaint from Tcl/Tk about improper installation. This is
+ usually caused by bad or missing values for the environment
+ variables TK_LIBRARY or TCL_LIBRARY. See the installation
+ instructions above.
+
+
+To uninstall
+------------
Run the batch file UNINSTALL.BAT. This will run the Python script
uninstall.py, which undoes the registry additions and removes most
@@ -60,6 +170,7 @@
to avoid this (and also on how to remove the installation directory
itself) are gracefully accepted.
+
September 3, 1996
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)