1212This document aims to give an overview of Windows-specific behaviour you should
1313know about when using Python on Microsoft Windows.
1414
15- .. XXX (ncoghlan)
16-
17- This looks rather stale to me...
18-
19-
2015Installing Python
2116=================
2217
2318Unlike most Unix systems and services, Windows does not include a system
2419supported installation of Python. To make Python available, the CPython team
2520has compiled Windows installers (MSI packages) with every `release
2621<https://www.python.org/download/releases/> `_ for many years. These installers
27- are primarily intended to add a system-wide installation of Python, with the
28- core interpreter and library being shared by all application. Non-shared
29- layouts of the Python interpreter may also be created with the same installer,
30- however, the released installer is not intended for embedding in other
31- installers.
22+ are primarily intended to add a per-user installation of Python, with the
23+ core interpreter and library being used by a single user. The installer is also
24+ able to install for all users of a single machine, and a separate ZIP file is
25+ available for application-local distributions.
3226
3327Installation Steps
3428------------------
@@ -41,31 +35,35 @@ default installation and only requires an internet connection for optional
4135features. See :ref: `install-layout-option ` for other ways to avoid downloading
4236during installation.
4337
44- After starting the installer, one of three options may be selected:
38+ After starting the installer, one of two options may be selected:
4539
4640.. image :: win_installer.png
4741
48- If you select "Install for All Users":
49-
50- * You may be required to provide administrative credentials or approval
51- * Python will be installed into your Program Files directory
52- * The :ref: `launcher ` will be installed into your Windows directory
53- * The standard library, test suite, launcher and pip will be installed
54- * After installation, the standard library will be pre-compiled to bytecode
55- * If selected, the install directory will be added to :envvar: `PATH `
56-
57- If you select "Install Just for Me":
42+ If you select "Install Now":
5843
59- * You will *not * need to be an administrator
44+ * You will *not * need to be an administrator (unless a system update for the
45+ C Runtime Library is required)
6046* Python will be installed into your user directory
6147* The :ref: `launcher ` will *also * be installed into your user directory
6248* The standard library, test suite, launcher and pip will be installed
63- * If selected, the install directory will be added to :envvar: `PATH `
49+ * If selected, the install directory will be added to your :envvar: `PATH `
50+ * Shortcuts will only be visible for the current user
6451
6552Selecting "Customize installation" will allow you to select the features to
6653install, the installation location and other options or post-install actions.
6754To install debugging symbols or binaries, you will need to use this option.
6855
56+ To perform an all-users installation, you should select "Customize
57+ installation". In this case:
58+
59+ * You may be required to provide administrative credentials or approval
60+ * Python will be installed into the Program Files directory
61+ * The :ref: `launcher ` will be installed into the Windows directory
62+ * Optional features may be selected during installation
63+ * The standard library will be pre-compiled to bytecode
64+ * If selected, the install directory will be added to the system :envvar: `PATH `
65+ * Shortcuts are available for all users
66+
6967.. _install-quiet-option :
7068
7169Installing Without UI
@@ -294,7 +292,7 @@ System variables, you need non-restricted access to your machine
294292
295293 The :envvar: `PYTHONPATH ` variable is used by all versions of Python 2 and
296294 Python 3, so you should not permanently configure this variable unless it
297- only includes code that is compatible all of your installed Python
295+ only includes code that is compatible with all of your installed Python
298296 versions.
299297
300298.. seealso ::
0 commit comments