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pythonpython-idle

Default save path for Python IDLE?


Does anyone know where or how to set the default path/directory on saving python scripts prior to running?

On a Mac it wants to save them in the top level ~/Documents directory. I would like to specify a real location. Any ideas?


Solution

  • On OS X, if you launch IDLE.app (by double-clicking or using open(1), for example), the default directory is hardwired to ~/Documents. If you want to change the default permanently, you'll need to edit the file idlemain.py within the IDLE.app application bundle; depending on which Python(s) you have installed, it will likely be in one of:

    /Applications/MacPython 2.x/IDLE.app/Contents/Resources
    /Applications/MacPython 2.x/IDLE.app/Contents/Resources
    /Applications/MacPorts/Python 2.x/IDLE.app/Contents/Resources
    /Applications/Python 2.x/IDLE.app/Contents/Resources
    /Applications/Python 3.x/IDLE.app/Contents/Resources
    

    Edit the line:

    os.chdir(os.path.expanduser('~/Documents'))
    

    On the other hand, if you start IDLE from the command line, for example, with:

    $ cd /some/directory    
    $ /usr/local/bin/idle
    

    IDLE will use that current directory as the default.